


Afterlife

by nd7878



Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Drama, Friendship, Gen, Survival
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-02-25 07:41:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22012447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nd7878/pseuds/nd7878
Summary: The Fuyuki Singularity went terribly wrong. Ritsuka Fujimaru is barely alive, Caster is dead, and Servants are closing in on them from all sides. Olga Marie Animusphere is dead, but she doesn't know that yet. All she knows is that she's the only one who can get the Master and Demi-Servant duo out alive. With an emergency summoning and a certain reliable goddess, it may be possible.
Comments: 26
Kudos: 93





	1. The Goddess Arrives

Crackling flames shed inconsistent orange light through the shattered window. The dull roar of the fires, once relegated to the back of her mind, now tormented Olga Marie Animusphere. It pushed her psyche closer, closer, closer to that claustrophobic panic she had held back. She held her eyes shut and pulled her arms tighter around her knees. She was the Director. She wasn't supposed to be here. She was never meant for the field. 'Zero aptitude,' they said. She was no Master.

If only Lev were here...

A far-off roar made her flinch. Berserker was still out there, hunting. Hunting them. Forget finding the Grail and solving the Fuyuki singularity, Olga Marie just wanted to survive. If Romani just wanted to let them die, she wouldn't blame him. There was still a chance he could find some other Master candidate, right? Didn't Fujimaru have a sister?

Lev would know. If anyone could save Chaldea, he could. But Romani said-

A soft whimper forced her to open her eyes. At first she refused to raise them, staring blankly at the orange-tinted floor, taking in the singed, broken floorboards, scattered papers and pieces of furniture. Rubble, a mix of drywall, concrete, and shards of glass, swept around like sand blown by the hot winds. Slowly, a pool of blood crept into the top of her vision. She looked up.

Lev?

Three figures, one standing, one kneeling, and one lying on their back. Dr. Romani Archaman, or, at least, a blue hologram of him, gave orders to the kneeler, Mash Kyrielight. Ritsuka Fujimaru lie there, the focus of their efforts, bleeding out. The wound in his chest stained his white master uniform red. The growing puddle of blood on the floor had reached Mash's bare knees, but the Shielder didn't care. Her lavender eyes were wide with fear, shock, and panic as she tried to stop the bleeding. Through it all, Olga Marie couldn't help but wonder, 'What happens to a Demi-Servant if their Master dies?'

"... Director!"

She heard, but it didn't register. Nothing registered. Not the Shielder's eyes, pleading with her through blood-matted hair. Not Romani's blue face, inches from hers. Not the pale, pale face of the Chaldea's last Master. Did they want her to do something? About that? She had tried healing magic, back when it first happened. She didn't have the power to heal a wound that deep, only slow it down. Mash's Servant abilities might let her stabilize him, but he wouldn't recover enough to do his duties as a Master. Why let him suffer like that, then? Why prolong it? They were all going to die, anyways.

"... Director!"

No one could stop that thing. Even Caster was barely a fly against that mighty Berserker. Mash didn't show it, but the beast had put her on her last legs. Blocking a swing of his blade had thrown her three blocks away, and that was when she was still at nearly full strength. Fujimaru had only been scratched by the thing, and he was barely hanging on. Olga Marie couldn't do anything. She wasn't a Master. If some random skeleton happened to look in their hiding place, they were done for. All of them.

*SMACK*

The sound of fire shot into the background, replaced by a searing pain in her right cheek. Mash crouched at eye-level, anchoring Olga Marie in the present moment. Before the pain could dull and her mind could retreat into shock, Mash spoke.

"Apologies, Director, but snap out of it!"

The Director blinked. "Mash, I…"

"Director," Romani's voice echoed from the hologram, sounding vaguely robotic, "I need you to listen to me very carefully. You are going to perform a summoning."

Mash retreated to give space for the doctor's hologram to lower and look her in the eyes. Through the translucent blue man, the Director saw the Demi-Servant return to Ritsuka's side and taking his all-but-white, clammy hand in her own. Romani lifted his holographic hands and 'placed' them squarely on her shoulders. She couldn't help but wonder what awkward position he had to be in at his desk in order to pull that maneuver off.

"B-but I, I have no aptitude- h-how-"

Romani shook his head. "I know. We have a plan. A desperate, last-ditch 'Hail Mary' of a plan. And I need you to trust me, because it's the best plan we've got to even have a chance of saving humanity."

Saving humanity. That's right. That's what this was all about. They needed to save humanity. Olga Marie let go of her knees and wiped her eyes clear of smoke, dust, and whatever tears had dried there. She looked Romani in the eyes. "What do you need me to do?" She sounded more confident than she was. She had been faking it for so long she could barely tell how much of that bravado was real.

Romani smiled, but it was tight. Anxious. Fake, like hers. "Da Vinci mentioned the theoretical possibility of splitting the burdens of a Master. We could attach a Servant to Fujimaru's command seals, but power them with your mana."

Olga's brow furrowed. "But Fujimaru has the Seals, and he's…" She trailed off, looking at the brown-haired Master. His chest barely moved. Mash was channeling some sort of healing magic into him; probably the healing spell all Master candidates learned. It wouldn't save him, but it could keep him alive. For the moment, at least.

"While you perform the incantation, Mash will run mana through his Command Seals. Since she's his Servant, she should be able to interact with them on some level. I would call this pseudo-scientific hypostulating, but Da Vinci says it'll work." Romani sighed. She had never seen him this worried about anything, even when she threatened to fire him. Maybe because he knew she wouldn't actually go through with it… "If he dies, you will need to figure out some kind of contract with the Servant. We… don't have the information to work that out ourselves, but with the Grail's knowledge, a Servant may know a way to do it. Da Vinci is doing her best to make the summoning system more accommodating, but this really is a last-ditch effort. You'll have to use the old, cumbersome summoning incantation. You remember that, right?"

"Of course." Olga Marie tried to puff out her chest in pride, but her earlier anxiety hadn't quite left. She managed to push it to the back of her mind, though. This was for the sake of humanity. "Who do you take me for?" she smirked and stood tall. "I am Olga Marie Animusphere, Director of Chaldea. It is my job to guide humanity to safety!"

*****

The next couple of minutes passed by in a flash, but they still balanced on a razor-thin thread. Mash and Olga Marie alternated casting healing magic on Fujimaru and setting up the summoning circle through Mash's shield. As Olga Marie held her glowing hand up to his chest, the green light that she once found so comforting cast sickly shadows on the Master. The shadows only moved slightly when he breathed. Each breath was so shallow, so weak, the Director had to check his hand to make sure the Command Seals were still there and he hadn't passed away under her. She wouldn't allow that, not here. Not when humanity still needed saving.

"Director, it's ready!" Mash stepped back from where her shield lay on the floor and scanned the room. Olga's black coat hung above one of the former living room's windows to block the light from the summoning, along with a collection of blankets and blinds Mash had found stuffed away in a closet. Using her enhanced strength, Mash had also pushed a ravaged couch, the remnants of a table, and a wardrobe against the door in a token attempt to keep potential enemies at bay.

They knew the Lancer, Rider, Assassin, and, unfortunately, Caster of this corrupted Grail War were out of the fight, and Berserker sounded far enough away. Caster had mentioned that the corrupt Saber wouldn't leave the Grail's side, so they wouldn't have to worry about them. Archer, though, was actively hunting them down. It was probably just luck that he hadn't found them yet; that, or he was playing with them. 'That nameless spirit,' Caster called him. A ghost of some long-forgotten timeline, somehow dragged into this Grail's cruel game.

It didn't matter. The sympathetic tone their Caster ally had directed towards him didn't change the fact that the Archer sent powerful arrows flying their way any time he saw them. Blocking the windows only gave them the slight hope that he wouldn't rain hell on them the second the summoning started. If they could make the flashy cerulean lights just a little less obvious, they had that much more of a chance of surviving.

Mash kneeled beside the director, her black and purple armor chiming quietly with the movement. They locked eyes, and Olga Marie felt the icy grasp of guilt claw at her heart yet again. Why did this girl look at her with so much trust? Why was she relying on her? Mash should hate her. Despise her. She should be happily letting Olga Marie die. And yet, here she was. The Shielder's right hand started glowing green with healing magic, and her left curled around the Master's right.

"This is for Senpai. He's… he helped me."

Pieces clicked together. The Director smiled at the Demi-Servant, hoping to convey some warmth. "We'll fix this singularity and get him back, Mash. I promise. Now, three, two… one."

The Animusphere heir lifted her hand right as Mash's touched Fujimaru's chest. The two girls watched him for a few seconds, carefully scanning for any changes. His breathing remained shallow but consistent, and the bleeding had all but stopped. He was still in the danger zone, but the change in healers was successful. To her left, Mash let out a small sigh of relief. It was barely audible, but Olga Marie understood. If this were any other time, any time less urgent and important, she would think, 'Does anyone think of me so highly? Would anyone care if I..?'

The director stood and turned to face the summoning circle. Light blue, rune-etched circles floated around the shield, twitching and turning at irregular intervals as it calibrated to changes in the singularity. Roman's hologram glowed beside it, but he seemed to be focused on the data and numbers from the control room. She took a deep breath. "Romani. I'm ready."

"Good, good, let me just…" he typed faster, eyes darting to and fro. Olga Marie could hardly imagine the mess Chaldea was in right now, but it warmed her heart to know that those remaining were fighting to pull everything together. Romani… he made a good acting Director. At least, until she got back to put him in his place. But, without Lev, how would she…

Olga shook those feelings aside. They needed her here, in the moment. She would lean on Lev's teachings, on his advice, to get them through this. She would make up for the embarrassment of a Director she was just minutes ago. She would show ten times the strength to make up for her moment of weakness.

"There! Da Vinci's adjustments have been patched in. Go for it, Director!"

Olga Marie Animusphere's right arm shot out, her eyes set on success. Behind her, Mash ran mana through the Command Seals, projecting them as an anchor for any incoming Servants. Olga's silver hair flowed behind her, and with the practiced resolve of one who wanted nothing more than to be a Master, she began.

"Heed my words!"

The summoning circle exploded with magical energy. Lightning shot from its center, harmlessly flying past the three inhabitants of the room like it knew they were there. This was more of a reaction than Olga Marie had ever experienced in her own attempts at summoning; whatever Romani and Da Vinci did, it changed something.

"My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny! If you heed the Grail's call, and obey my will and reason, then answer my summoning!"

Olga's magical circuits lit up, tracing up her arm in geometric patterns. They burned bright, brighter than any other time she used them, but felt warm and gentle. Magic flowed forth like someone opened a gate that had long since been locked. It felt right. In the ever-changing lighting of the torn-up living room,she saw something begin to take shape on her hand.

She couldn't contain her excitement. With a wide smile, she continued. "I hereby swear that I will be all the good in the world, that I shall defeat all evil in the world!"

The tattoo-like crest solidified. Finally! Whatever Romani did, whatever was different about this situation, she finally broke away from 'zero aptitude!' She was a Master! A real Master, not just a mana battery! She didn't need Fujimaru, she could protect humanity on her-

A ragged gasp ripped through the air. She heard Fujimaru twist in pain, and the next shock of mana from the summoning circle threw the room into further disarray. The magic power tore into her; Olga Marie cried out. It felt like the energy was shredding her from the inside out. Through her half-closed eyes, she saw the red markings disappear, fading back into obscurity.

'No…'

This was zero-aptitude, then, wasn't it? Constant failure. It just decided to give her hope this time.

"Senpai!"

Mash's voice echoed through the roar of the circle, but the Director didn't care. It just had to give her hope this time, didn't it? Why did the Grail torment her? Her hand started falling…

"Director! Finish the incantation!"

Romani's voice brought her back to reality. He was right. Stopping an incantation this powerful in the middle would kill them before Archer even got the chance. Her hand raised back up, even as the skin around her circuits began to lacerate.

"Seventh heaven clad, and the great words of power, come forth from the circle of bindings!"

The summoning circle was blinding now. Olga Marie Animusphere grit her teeth as the strain ripped at her. She may not be a Master, but she hadn't failed yet… There was still a chance! A chance that, maybe, this mission wouldn't end in the death of humanity!

"Guardian of the Scales!"

*****

The first thing that Olga Maire noticed when her vision cleared was the beautiful, wavy blonde hair. It shone like gold in the orange light. The obsidian crown that adorned the Servant's head kept the golden strands from blocking her shining red eyes, which met Olga's with a warm but somewhat detached gaze.

Other Master candidates always mentioned that the moment right after a summoning seemed to hang in the air, as if the whole world was holding its breath to watch the arrival of the Heroic Spirit. It was a moment Olga Marie Animusphere never thought she would experience for herself, yet here she was. She felt like she had all the time she wanted to take in her Servant's black, royal lietard and the dark red cloak wrapped over her shoulders.. Olga traced the fluffy, conservative neckline down, noting the maroon highlights in her outfit, and the gold skull necklace that fell over her chest. She noticed the silver chain wrapping around the Servant's waist like a belt, and the sizeable golden cage that hung at her left hip. The opposite leg was fully covered by a gold-entwined black legging, while the left leg was relatively bare. Even as the dust cleared, the moment hung in the air for an eternity longer; Master and Servant, taking each other in.

"Servant, Lancer. Mistress of the Underworld, Ereshkigal. I responded to your summons!" A haughty smile graced the blonde lancer's face. "I don't often lend my power to one individual, but I'll give you a hand since you called for me so desperately. Be-"

"SENPAI!"

The introduction scene ground to a halt as Olga Marie was reminded that there were other people in the room. She glanced over her shoulder to see Mash doubled over Ritsuka Fujimaru, both of her hands busy pumping healing magic into him. Mash's head raised ever so slightly, and Olga Marie immediately knew something was wrong. Both of her hands raised to cover her mouth in shock.

If the Master looked bad earlier, he looked like he was on death's door now. A tinge of blue touched his features. Did he lose too much blood? Did he take on too much of the strain of the summoning? Should they have just focused on reconnecting the rayshifting technology, singularity be damned? And where was Romani? Where did his hologram go? What-

"Do not interrupt me, mortal! I've practiced that introduction for far too long to have it cut short!" Ereshkigal huffed, but with an authority that shocked everyone into silence. "And you!" she said, looking at Olga's hands. "You allowed me to believe that you were my Master! Me, subordinated to a mere spirit such as yourself… Forget that speech! You were not worthy of it! Who is my true Master?"

Rejected yet again. "H-he is. The one on the floor…"

Ereshkigal looked past her, past Mash, to the real Master. Her ruby eyes sparked in fear and… was that recognition? "Ri- I mean, Master! Oh no, no, no!" She dashed over, pushing Mash aside and running a magically-infused hand over Fujimaru. The blonde's gaze turned on them yet again, freezing them in place. The power Ereshkigal exuded dwarfed any Servant Olga Marie had ever met, and being the focus of her hate-filled glare threatened to kill her.

"Who is responsible for this? What happened to him?"

Mash snapped herself out of her petrification and tried to move back towards Fujimaru. "Please, I need to keep healing-"

A single lance tore through the floor, stopping a hair's width away from Mash's neck. "As my Master, he will receive the Blessing of Kur. Do not come any closer." Her glare shifted to Olga. "Either of you." Once the Lancer was sure of their compliance, she returned her focus to Fujimaru. Dark magic swirled around him and slowly came together to form the bars of an ornate brass cage around his body. A moment later, a green aura ran through the metal.

"That should stabilize him. This goddess is not about to let her chosen champion die before she even gets the chance to fight alongside him." A dark blush flashed over her pristine face, and the blonde turned so her hair shielded her from their gazes. "Oh goodness, I sound like my sister. It's just, if he dies while I'm here, I wouldn't be able to greet him in the Underworld… he would have to wait until my mana gave out, so I couldn't say 'Welcome home!' or show him the nice…"

The goddess's dreams fell to murmurs to quiet for Olga Marie to hear. She did well to heal the Master, but why did she talk like she knew him? Fujimaru had barely been a Master for a few hours, and hadn't even summoned his own Servant yet. Was this a case of mistaken identity? Or was she one of those clingy types? Maybe she was a delusional Berserker masquerading as a La-

"Attack in-" Mash started to yell, but Ereshkigal jumped in front of her.

"Protect my Master!" she ordered. Olga Marie felt a sudden, complete compulsion to do as she said, placing her body between Fujimaru's and the direction Ereshkigal dashed in. Without her conscious choice, her body ran through every shielding rune she knew and mumbled the incantations. "Shielder! Your Noble Phantasm! Deploy it!"

But Mash was already there, her shield slammed into the ground right in front of the Animusphere heiress. "Right!"

A lance of pure red energy formed in Ereshkigal's right hand, and she held the small birdcage in her left. The burst of energy of her spear materializing blew her hood back, throwing her golden hair out around her. Behind her, floating golden bars formed in a circle, spinning dangerously fast before shooting forward and tearing the front wall off of their little base. They disappeared into the orange sky. What were they…?

*BOOM*

Eight explosions wracked the burning sky, momentarily blotting out the ring of light that signified the distortion. Ereshkigal gripped her spear tighter.

"There are more coming! Brace yourselves!"

She shook the cage and a light ringing drowned out all other noise. Olga Marie found it… familiar. Inviting. Had she not already been locked in place maintaining three layers of shields, she feared she might've forgotten her duties.

In front of the director, Mash finished her chant. "Lord Chaldeas!"

By Ereshkigal, the shadows seemed to move. The bell still echoed in the night, and like someone rousing from a dream, the darkness rose into a monstrous figure. The spirit stood far larger than the Berserker that fought them earlier, a human-like beast with a wolf's head made completely out of darkness. Was this Ereshkigal's Noble Phantasm? Or just one of her Servant powers? Even Caster's Wicker Man seemed like a toy figure next to this darkness…

An explosion of red energy tore the monster's left arm to shreds. Three more hit in quick succession, decimating it. Ereshkigal grimaced. Six red metal spears materialized in the air behind her and shot off into the distance, intercepting more of the incoming shots. The spear in her hand still crackled and glowed ominously, but she had yet to use it. She stood at the ready, the foremost line of defense, even in front of the Shielder.

"Shielder! Get ready!"

The words still hung in the air when the red hell hit Mash's projected wall. The Shielder flinched, but a backwards glance at Fujimaru seemed to be enough to steel her resolve. Olga Marie watched, still maintaining her own shields and hoping they wouldn't be necessary. There was no way she could stop attacks of this magnitude, even at her best. The temperature around them increased exponentially as fiery explosions shook their defenses, but every once in awhile the director would catch a glimpse of Ereshkigal throwing spear after spear at the onslaught. Archer had found them, she knew.

"Ereshkigal!" the young heiress called, hoping the Servant could hear her over the deafening attack, "We need to move, there's no way to fight him from here!"

Something tickled in her psyche. 'Don't order me around! Master will be stable enough for movement in five seconds. Be ready to move on my signal!'

"Mash!" Olga called, "Be ready to move Fujimaru!"

"Right!"

Olga Marie watched Ereshkigal's shadowed form as she raised her spear into the air and brought it down. 'NOW!'

And then they were falling.

*****

AN: Something I've been working on for awhile, but needed to wait for the Christmas event to drop in English for characterization purposes since I'm not the best at hunting down translations. Apologies if I broke the Fate magic system, I'm only so read on the Nasuverse as a whole (and, at times, it feels like the magic rules are pretty fluid depending on the writers). Prepare for a story all about Olga Marie Animusphere, friends.


	2. Chapter 2

"So you don't recognize me?"

Mash hesitated, unsure, then shook her head no. "I-I'm sorry. I-I d-don't-"

"Enough. You've given me what I needed, thank you." Ereshkigal huffed and raised her hand up to shoo the young girl away. Everything was wrong. The stupid Archer managed to slip away from her, and she didn't dare stray too far from her Master (and others) in case he tried to pull something. She didn't encounter the fabled Berserker, but wasn't going to risk the weaker ones running into him and being killed. She barely saved her Master's life, and wasn't about to throw it away for nothing.

This was the worst! Why did everything have to be so difficult? Sure, she said, quote, '... even if it's not _you_ you' when contracting with Ritsuka, but…. Well, yeah, that probably explained it. She should've been more specific, that the 'you' had to know who she was, or at least had to have contracted with her themself…

Actually, no! The timeline was all out-of-whack, and she could both remember everything and nothing at the same time to the point where it honestly gave her a headache, but she could make this work! Ereshkigal found her thirst for a life outside the underworld stoked by Fujimaru's fantastical tales, so this would be just like living out a storybook! She could experience saving humanity for herself, and then live past that alongside the master who threw (would throw?) himself into the Abyss for her! This would be wonderful!

And, even better, he wouldn't remember that she _might_ have tried to wipe out Chaldea in an attempt to kill herself. That was definitely a plus. While she knew Ritsuka would certainly come to her aid next time she went on a downward spiral, she still wasn't proud of it and would prefer it never come up again, so this worked in her favor! As far as this Ritsuka would know, Erehkigal never doubted the worth of her life, for she was a reliable goddess of victory and nothing less. Never anything less.

She let out a small groan of embarrassment, drawing her fellow Servant's attention, but managed to put on a dazzling smile in place of whatever un-goddess-like expression she had been making.

"D-did you say-"

"No, it was nothing!" She internally cringed at Mash's skittishness. Ereshkigal hated to be feared by most humans; she only wanted to be respected, and there was a significant difference .Ereshkigal saw the fear in her purple eyes. Always, the goddess was met with fear and trepidation, always she was looked at warily, always people walked around her like they were stepping on eggshells (when they walked around her at all). Ritsuka was the first person, mortal or otherwise, to just _talk_ to her. The Mash in Babylon wasn't as nervous around her. The Mash of today hadn't matured yet, hadn't experienced as much combat. Neither had her Master... If Ritsuka looked at her with that fear in his eyes…

Ereshkigal wanted to tell the humans all about why there was no need to be afraid, how she was a benevolent (if gloomy) goddess who would provide the best accommodations possible to the dead, and that, given time, she would be willing to them her friends.

But she couldn't just say that out loud. After all, even if she was trapped in the underworld for her entire life, she was still a goddess. A goddess wouldn't explain herself, so Ereshkigal didn't. Mash would have to reach understanding on her own. As Mash went about her business, the goddess of death glanced at the two humans lying on their temporary basement base's floor. Well, one human, and one… spirit, of sorts.

The Throne, curiously, would not allow her to say anything to the young spirit girl about her condition. If she remembered correctly… this girl would never reach the Underworld. Ereshkigal looked over her with empathy, but had to stifle it for the time being. For now, she had to figure out how she was going to fight with two mana-dry masters and limited connection to the Chaldea mana link.

It would be difficult considering the amount of mana she expended to partially activate her Noble Phantasm, and the mana she was putting through the cage that surrounded Ritsuka like a blanket. Fighting in the overworld was much more tiring than it needed to be! She thought it would be a simple task to drop herself and her compatriots into the underworld to give them a chance to run away outside of the Archer's line of sight, but that knocked out the spirit girl and nearly drained all of her own personal reserve of mana. She was still more than a match for that stupid, cowardly, no-good-useless Archer, but- wait, why did she care so much about some random Servant?

"It doesn't matter... " she grumbled. Her eyes narrowed before the Shielder could talk again.

One of her patrolling spirits warned her of an approaching undead. She sighed and rang her little cage, knowing that the skeleton was instantly consumed by one of her shadowy Gallû beasts. The undead were nothing to her. With a flick of her wrist, she could send them on to a restful afterlife; she only chose not to make such a spectacle out of it and remove all of the undead in the area so the Archer couldn't find them. Using the beasts individually and sporadically would make it just a bit more difficult to triangulate her location. As long as no Servants fell upon them, they would be fine here.

Mash, luckily, seemed to have inherited good knowledge of tactics. Without any need for Ereshkigal's orders, she found a nice basement to move the unconscious humans, well-hidden from the Archer. She may not have realized it, but the low altitude of the building and close proximity to the underworld (relatively) gave Ereshkigal a minor boost in power, and the innumerable multitudes of undead in the area gave her spirits great cover to slip around and keep an eye on everything. For now, they were safe.

"Lady Ereshkigal…"

The respect made her smile, especially since the anxious stuttering seemed to be under control. "Yes, Mash?"

"Thank you for saving my- our Master," the Shielder said with a slight bow. Ereshkigal waved off the praise.

"While his soul would be safe with me, it's not quite time for him to die." Mash looked vaguely uncomfortable with that idea, but that was normal for mortals.

"I see... " Mash looked down, focusing on a cardboard box filled with random little baubles stuffed away in some cobweb-covered corner of the cement box of a room. "Do you… know us from somewhere, Lady Ereshkigal?"

She shook her head. "Oh, goodness no. The summoning gave me some extra information is all. I needed a moment to get used to it."

Not that she could talk about the future, anyways. Every time she tried her words left her and her head got fuzzy.

Mash raised an eyebrow at the semi-obvious lie, but managed to bring it back under control. "I see. You just seemed very… familiar with us. May I ask another question?" Ereshkigal nodded. "Ereshkigal is the Sumerian goddess of death. Does that mean you're a Divine Spirit?"

The soreness in her body was evidence enough that she wasn't, not completely, anyways, but Mash couldn't know that. "I'm a Pseudo-Servant. The Grail found a suitable human vessel for my spirit to inhabit. My Divinity is too much for any human to handle. I couldn't bear to put that kind of strain on my Master…" Ereshkigal trailed off, sending a glance towards the recovering male Master. The color had returned to his face and his wound had closed, but his recovery would still take rest. Her cages could only do so much to stop death given their intended purpose.

"I see," Mash replied. She opened her mouth to continue, then closed it and furrowed her brow in thought. Ereshkigal gave her a moment to gather herself, waiting patiently before she finally spoke. "We should come up with a plan for securing the Grail. We… us two, I mean, we… our Master needs our strength to get home."

"And he will get it," Ereshkigal stated with a hint of firmness. "I… have a contract with this human. As a goddess, it is my responsibility to protect and support my champion to the best of my abilities." At Mash's intrigued gaze, the blonde goddess turned away to hide her growing blush. ' _Why did I say something so embarrassing?! A goddess would never so generously give her support to anyone! Choose your words more carefully, Eresh!'_

An uncomfortable silence fell between the two Servants. The cold walls of the basement kept out any outside noise, but magnified the soft breathing of the four inhabitants. To both of their relief, Ritsuka's breathing was as stable and strong as any of theirs.

"Lady Ereshkigal?"

"Yes, Mash?"

Mash bit her lower lip. She let the question hang in the air, then quietly and deliberately turned her attention back to Ritsuka and the spirit girl. "No. It's nothing, sorry."

"You have my attention. Speak," Ereshkigal commanded slightly more harshly than she meant to. Her sister demanded respect, so she tried to emulate her when speaking to mortals, but… maybe she should tone it down just a little bit. "Please. And, Mash. While you'll do well to remember that our relationship is that of a goddess and a human, well… we are also fellow Servants under the same Master. As long as you remain respectful, you may treat me as a comrade with similar goals." _Or a friend, if you'd like._

Ereshkigal didn't say that last part, but she thought it very hard.

Mash nodded cautiously. "R-right." Ereshkigal noted the stutter, fearing that she may have unintentionally made their relationship worse. She was sending mixed signals! Before she could attempt to correct herself, the Shielder sat down across from her and cradled her knees to her chest. Mash sat in silence, again contemplating her words carefully. "You're right, I think."

"About what?"

"I'm…" Mash's back expanded as she breathed deeply, in and out. "Our relationship should be more like a goddess and a human. I've only been a _functional_ Demi-Servant for a couple of hours, and I've already let my Master get gravely injured. I mean," she let out a dry, humorless chuckle, "I'm a Shielder, a class specialized in defense, and I couldn't protect him. I nearly let humanity's last hope die. _My_ last hope…"

What did she mean by that? And why was she looking at her like that? This goddess would listen to her comrade's woes, but why was Mash looking up through her lavender bangs like she expected advice or emotional support… Oh. _OH._

Ereshkigal took on the proud smile her sister wore constantly and hoped it was believable. "Yes, perhaps you did let your defenses falter, but what could one expect? You are not divine, nor perfect." The goddess mentally cringed. That wasn't helpful! Quickly, recover! "A-ah, yes! You are but the vessel of a Heroic Spirit! Luckily, this reliable goddess has come to your aid! I will… umm… be the goddess of victory you need, so… count on me, please. "

The goddess could feel Mash's gaze judging her, but couldn't muster the courage to put her in her place. She wasn't used to speaking so much.

"You're also… your devotion to our Master is respectable. Well done."

"Thank you, Lady Ereshkigal," Mash said with a fresh determined look in her eyes. Whatever Ereshkigal told her had worked, apparently. "I'll work hard so you don't have to pick up my slack in the future. I will keep Senpai safe so you can secure our victory!"

* * *

"You're awake. Good."

That was all Ereshkigal said to Olga before she dematerialized. Servant Lancer seemed to have nothing to say to Olga Marie, much to her chagrin _(and recognition)_. According to Mash, Ereshkigal had been quite kind and, while not talkative exactly, at least engaged with the Shielder. But the second the director woke up she disappeared. God forbid the Servant talk to one of her masters _(even if one of those Masters wasn't a Master but just got so close to being one that she wanted to fudge the difference and pretend that maybe she had some authority and was maybe something a little closer to praise-worthy and wasn't just a glorified mana battery that would be tossed aside the moment the Servant was able to connect to the Chaldean mana link)_.

...

"Director? Are you alright?" Mash asked, looking up from Ritsuka with a concerned glance _(that she didn't deserve)._

"I'll be alright when we get back to Chaldea," she snapped. "Which would be faster if that Servant didn't LEAVE!"

Mash knew better than to pry further. She was already well-acquainted with an angry _(stressed scared anxious terrified worthless meaningless)_ Olga Marie Animusphere.

At least in silence the director would fume to herself.

The nerve! Olga Marie still said the summoning incantation _(she had it memorized for as long as Chaldea existed)_. If her raging headache and dry mouth had anything to say about it, she was definitely providing mana to the proclaimed goddess ( _that meant something,_ _right?)._ Certainly she couldn't just be ignored by a Servant she was proving mana to. Right?

They had a chance to survive now. Olga Marie needed to talk to the new Servant, but even though she could feel a telepathic connection with her she had no command seals to enforce compliance _(but even then the telepathic link was there so she was at least something tangential to a Master right? She was something more than nothing because she had to be something, please at least let her be something)_. So… she just had to wait for Ritsuka to wake up. Because, apparently, he was important. The man who showed up late to and slept through her briefing _(because she was a failure and an uninspiring leader no one looked up to)_. Yeah. Right. She had only put an entire year of her life into _(hoping Father would look at her and not Kirschtaria Wodime)_ the Chaldea program, so it made sense that the disrespectful bastard of a backup master candidate ended up with the respect of a Servant who never even spoke to him _(and refused to speak to her, just like Father)_. Right. Yep. Great.

Olga Marie stifled her rising anger and blinked back a few frustrated tears.

This was fine.

Everything was fine _(except she was hyperventilating and Mash noticed and was watching her deep breaths Olga deep breaths in out in out)._

They were still alive _(deep breaths)._ She just had to help the Master get them out of here _(in, out)_. Accept her supporting role _(slow down)_. Even if she wasn't a Master, she could still help! She'd been running Chaldea for long enough to have some experience in managing the project _(just breath, Olga Marie)_. Except Romani was doing that now.

Romani. Shoot.

Their connection to Chaldea was shot. The urgency of the situation hit her like a bucket of ice water, and sobering realization chained back the panic gnashing at the heels of her subconscious. She couldn't afford to spiral right now.

For the next twenty minutes, Olga focused on re-establishing their connection to Chaldea. Something about the huge influx of mana during their fight with Archer destabilized their link with Romani, but after a little magical tune-up the acting director's holographic face popped back into being. While the stress in his eyes was obvious, he seemed relieved to find them in one piece and commented that, from what he could see, Fujimaru's vitals were back to normal. Why he didn't wake up was anyone's guess, and he claimed it would just be a matter of time.

She also sent a few telepathic messages Ereshkigal's way and was completely ignored. Which was fine.

Romani managed the Chaldean chaos well, reporting to her that all major fires and damages had been contained. He was eighty percent confident that there were no more bombs in the complex, and tentatively declared that they no longer had an immediate emergency on their side. However, the rayshifting technology was not at a point where they could be evacuated yet. Whatever disturbance caused this singularity was also keeping them there, so they had to resolve that quickly.

Caster's information gave them enough to form a plan, but without Ereshkigal in the room that would be near-impossible. They knew they needed to avoid Berserker at all costs so they didn't have a repeat encounter, and they knew that the Grail was in a cavern behind Ryuudou Temple. By going straight there, they would be able to draw Archer in and face Saber, minimizing the amount of fights it would take to resolve this foundation of humanity.

Just as the director considered asking Romani if there were a way to activate Fujimaru's Command Seals to force the rogue Lancer to return, the brown-haired Master coughed violently. Before Olga Marie could even jump to her feet, Mash reached his side and slowly propped the waking Master up. His bright blue eyes fluttered open and wearily took in the cold stone room they found themselves in.

"Wow… I thought I was a goner for sure." His light-hearted smile contrasted the stress of the past hour so drastically that Olga couldn't help but gape. Mash jumped forward and wrapped her arms around him, letting some small tears of relief leak out.

"Senpai! You're alive!"

"I guess I'm hard to kill, huh?" he joked, but the director clocked a dullness to his eyes that wasn't there before.

Romani's voice chimed in over the comms. "You certainly are. Da Vinci says you should be dead thrice over, so even if you're feeling better now make sure not to push it."

"Right, right," Ritsuka said as he sat up. Mash helped prop him up against a wall. "... Caster isn't here, huh?"

Olga Marie stepped up. "There are some things we need to catch you up on."

* * *

' _Okay, so after my introduction there are four general options. Ritsuka say "Nice to meet you, Ereshkigal, thank you so much for saving my life," and he continues to acknowledge my divinity and swear his loyalty to me. That's a great scenario. Mash is sweet, I like her, and she's also quiet so that's perfect for me. Very respectful, too. She's seen me… falter in my Divinity, though, so I need to keep that in mind. What if she says something to Ritsuka when I'm not in the room? Like, "Oh Senpai, this goddess you summoned is just putting on a strong face, she's really a sheltered little girl with no idea how to talk to people!'"_

Even in spirit form, her metaphorical cheeks burned. Ereshkigal definitely knew how to talk to people! She was practicing right now! In fact…

Ereshkigal did the spiritual equivalent of standing up and cleared her throat. "Here goes… Servant, Lancer. Mistress of the Underworld, Ereshki- no, no, no, I need a mirror! Why aren't there any mirrors here?" She looked around the crumbling rooftop that she claimed as a vantage point. Only the smoldering flames on the horizon replied with their ever-present crackling. "Ugh! Never mind! Again! Practice makes perfect, Eresh, you've got to make a good first impression...

"Servant, Lancer…" She paused, hummed and hawed, considering. "Let's add '-class' to that. I'm not averse to being called 'Lancer,' but 'Lancer-class' is more like a title than a possible name. I don't want to be perceived more as a Servant than a goddess, so my name is most important in this case. Keep that in mind for later, goddess... Okay, continuing: Ereshkigal, Mistress of the Underworld. I responded to your summons!"

Ereshkigal struck a haughty pose and put on a smile, but it didn't feel right. "That last line doesn't work. The girls didn't respond to that like I wanted... It could be better, I mean, and if it could be better then it's not the best! C'mon, Eresh, this is make or break!"

Her practice was interrupted when one of her Gallû scouts pinged a dangerous location in her mental map. The intersection of leylines plus a terribly malevolent aura? That must be the location of the grail Mash mentioned. Even knowing about the grail's corruption, she found aspects of the energy confusing. There was a touch of something similar to the aura of the Age of Gods, something _extra_ and something that she recognized, but couldn't put her finger on. Ereshkigal sighed. The sudden onset of a headache told her it was probably something she learned of when she first met Ritsuka and the Throne just didn't want her to know about it yet. How annoying. She filed it away as 'important' and decided to come back to it later.

"Okay, anyways," she sighed and went back to practicing. floating to and fro in a rough approximation of pacing. "I responded to your summons… let's see. I came because you called?" she shook her head. "No, absolutely not. I responded to your call… You called and I responded… I came in response to your call! That's it!"

Even as she continued her recitation, Ereshkigal's kept the movements of her Gallû spirits in mind. The Chaldean team might have known the location of the grail even before she arrived, but her scouts to give them an actionable and detailed map of the area. A few more spirits roamed in the area immediately around their temporary base and two were specifically assigned to follow the corrupted Berserker that nearly killed Ritsuka.

The monstrous being currently stood catatonic far to the west of their base- whatever the Chaldean team and the late Caster had done, they seemingly drained enough of his energy for him to take some time to replenish his mana. Not that Ereshkigal took that as a reason to relax; the power the rogue Servant exuded would have given her pause even during her prime. There was no way that she would allow the beast to come anywhere near her comrades again… with her current lack of Chaldean mana supply, she probably wouldn't be able to fight both Berserker and whoever set up near the grail, and that was before taking Archer into consideration.

"Servant, Lancer-class. Ereshkigal, Mistress of the Underworld…" Ereshkigal continued her introduction on loop. While it did deserve her undivided attention (a goddess should have a perfect introduction, after all), she needed to strategize. What would she do about Archer? Her spirits were scouring the entire city of Fuyuki and found neither hide nor hair of a red-clad fighter. She could face him, certainly. She did not doubt her strength, and the ghost girl provided a suitable amount of mana- not enough to fight with her full divine luster, but still enough to fight comfortably. Draining the girl enough to knock her out was a fluke on her part, as she had attempted to unleash her full powers when only at Pseudo-Servant strength. Such a mistake would not happen again now that she had adjusted.

Ereshkigal, Mistress of the Underworld, was dutiful in every way, and thus did not make mistakes that could harm her charges.

"I do not lend my powers to one person exclusively, but-"

' _Hey, blondie, your champion's awake. Get back here!'_

_..._

Ereshkigal blinked.

What?

Blondie?

What kind of disrespect-

' _Excuse me? Blondie?! How dare you! I'll have you know that I am a-'_

And then this woman had the audacity to interrupt her.

' _Oh,_ now _you respond? Yes, you're a goddess, but-'_

' _Do not interrupt me, mortal! Be silent!'_ Ereshkigal commanded, wincing as her Authority took hold. She didn't mean to waste mana like that. However, her command of the dead kicked in and the ghost was silenced. ' _I will be back shortly. I must finish preparing.'_

The girl couldn't respond, so Ereshkigal went along with her business without worry. While she wanted to drop everything and rush to Ritsuka's side, to make sure he was happy and healthy, doing that would make her seem desperate. No, a goddess arrives precisely when she means to.

' _ **By my command seal I order you…'**_

What? Huh? That was Ritsuka's voice. What?

' _ **Ereshkigal, appear before me and introduce yourself!'**_

' _NO NO NO NO WAIT I'M NOT READY-'_

* * *

**AN:** Chapter 2! This one is more setup-y than chapter 1, in my opinion, and the scenes just ended up so much more internal that my outline implied. The story itself will really pick up next chapter, but I wanted to give Eresh and Olga Marie time to stew with their thoughts. Olga's shock from last chapter is more contained, but that lets her self-doubt manifest in other ways. Eresh, on the other-but-kinda-the-same hand, is dealing with some timey-wimey BS.

Now for some housecleaning: I appreciate all of the support so much! Y'all are great, and I hope I continue to intrigue you enough to stick around!

The next chapter won't come out as quickly as this one- I had an earlier draft of chapter 2 already completed when I posted the first one, and just ended up rewriting it (almost completely). Chapter 3 is pretty close to done, but it's missing some key moments that just aren't coming together like I want them to. This is going to be a shorter story, so I'm really focused on making sure each individual chapter is high quality.


	3. Chapter 3

Ereshkigal's sudden appearance ripped the room to shreds in a hurricane of energy. Mana-formed lightning burst through discarded books, decrepit shelves and tables, and narrowly slipped by the living occupants. Olga Marie still had to magically divert a bolt, but the storm was over as soon as it began.

After the storm came the pressure, the weight of godliness nearly driving Olga Marie to the floor. It had always been there- she knew Ereshkigal was divine, but only now did she face the full force of divinity's entrance without any adrenaline shielding her from the effect. Everything in the director's core balked beneath the unfiltered power the goddess exuded. Olga Marie had no way of knowing that the goddess's divinity affected her much more strongly than others- while she physically staggered, the other two seemed unaffected.

The Queen of Kur's cloak billowed behind her, flowing on air that was now ten times denser and full of authority. Her beauty, once hidden by flames and the light of a summoning circle, was incomparable in its cold, regal existence. Even so, Olga Marie found a certain comfort in her presence, a certain instinct telling her that, if her life ended today, being held in this goddess's embrace would be a comfortable afterlife. Beneath the queen's practiced ice, Olga Marie felt the nostalgic warmth of home. She felt suspended in Ereshkigal's light, like a moth drawn to a flame.

The director felt the rush of blood hit her face. She still had to chew the goddess out for ignoring her, and this is where her mind went? Stupid!

"Servant, Lancer-class. Mistress of the Underwo- ow!" She bit her tongue. "Ahem," she cleared her throat and looked around, daring anyone to speak. No one did. "Mistress of the Underworld, Ereshkigal. I have come in answer to your summons. I don't like to help a single person exclusively, but I'll help you out since you summoned me. You should be grateful."

"Thank you for your help, Lady Ereshkigal," Mash said with a slight bow.

The goddess, as dignified as she was, didn't expect such a snappy response.

"Oh, um, well…" Ereshkigal sputtered, "you're very welcome, Mash. Any time." The goddess huffed, pushing her chest out in pride before backtracking. "N-not any time, I mean. You know, I'm a g-goddess and all, so I can't go giving out my support that… freely, so um, like, only sometimes." The goddess's shoulders pulled inwards as she spoke, her posture slowly turning more and more timid. "Not to say I _won't_ help you, just, you know, if I help you too much then it might affect how I'm perceived by other gods and goddesses, which would be a little bit… not… ideal..."

The goddess cleared her throat. "Anyways! Master!"

"Y-yes!" Fujimaru responded. His sharp exhale of pain as he tried to sit up further wasn't lost to Olga Marie; Ereshkigal's healing had saved his life, but he was far from fully recovered. They would have to take that into consideration in the future. For now, though, Ereshkigal's focus was elsewhere.

"You can't waste command seals like that! Actually, I would prefer you not use them on me at all!" she scolded, waving a finger at him disapprovingly. "I said I was preparing, and I'm a reliable goddess. Re-li-a-ble! There's no need to rush me!"

"Umm…"

Olga Marie saw Ritsuka's eyes flicker over towards her. It was a minute movement at most, but Ereshkigal caught on to its implications immediately.

When Ereshkigal shut off their mental link, Olga Marie _might_ have gotten a bit angry. She _might_ have uttered a string of curses that would've made sailors uncomfortable. She also, in the heat of the moment, _might_ have screamed something along the lines of, "Fujimaru, if you don't summon your Servant here right now I will end your bloodline!" That threat, in execution, contained many more explacitives and some unsavory details that Olga Marie redacted from her memory in shame. Regardless the director's rage-fueled desire to rip into Ereshkigal for blowing her off remained. The frustration of being ignored combined the fact that she was leading a frantic emergency mission to save the entire world led to a borderline-manic impatience. Ritsuka, in the face of this, did as he was told.

They could not save anyone if they were not on the same page, and Olga Marie was going to drill that into the goddess's self-important head. At least, that's what she thought before Ereshkigal turned her glowing saffron eyes on her.

When their eyes met, Olga Marie suddenly felt very, very small.

"Did you push my contractor to waste a command seal summoning me, _girl?_ "

The pressure of divinity returned. A deep, primal _terror_ washed over her. She couldn't breathe. She could barely think. Lying wasn't an option- rather, lying never even crossed her mind. Lying could only mean death. Any misstep, Olga Marie realized, would mean death. "I-I did, yes." Her voice held none of its usual bluster. As much as she wanted to bring the Servant to heel, Ereshkigal's glowing eyes pierced whatever veil of power Olga Marie could put up in defense. She felt the cages of the underworld curl around her heart, she felt the cold caress draining her, pulling her down into the abyss, suffocating her, dragging her down oh divines she couldn't breathe-

"Ereshkigal, was it?" Ritsuka asked, punctuated by the director's gasp for air. His smile spoke to his obliviousness, but there was a small crease of anxiety in his brow that only Mash noticed. "We haven't actually had a proper introduction yet. My name is Ritsuka Fujimaru. A pleasure to meet you!"

He held out his and bowed slightly, striking the pose of a knight asking for a noble lady's hand. Ereshkigal struggled internally, offering her hand only to pull it back right before he grabbed it, then, with a deep breath, placing her hand in his.

Ritsuka grasped it gingerly. "The Director did ask me to summon you, yes. However, I'm not an experienced Master or mage, so I didn't know how to access our telepathic link! Silly, right? She didn't push me to use a command seal, but recommended it given the urgency of the situation! Sorry!"

The director bit her tongue to keep her reaction to Ritsuka's lie under wraps. Mash's confused eyes met her own for a brief second, but the moment didn't last. The Shielder fell in next to Ritsuka and the Lancer to complete a neat semi-circle of three, closing Olga Marie off.

Servants, as her father and Lev described them to her, could be fickle, powerful beings that didn't always take to authority well. Some needed to be brought to heel. Olga Marie knew this. Her plan just two minutes ago was to bring Ereshkigal to heel. Ereshkigal, however, didn't even let her consider enacting that plan.

Ereshkigal, with nothing but a simple question, turned Olga Marie into a sniveling puppy.

"You're a respectful one, Fujimaru. This goddess appreciates it," Ereshkigal flashed him a kind smile, so opposite of her powerful scowl. "However, I will ask that you do not use a command seal on me so wastefully. I would not abandon the humans who seek my help. Next time, exercise patience. But I digress. I do feel a connection with you, so let's figure out the telepathic link."

"Lady Ereshkigal, if I may?" Mash interjected.

"Yes, Mash?" she turned to the Shielder.

"Well, now that everyone's awake, we should go over strategies for the future of this operation."

"R-right!" Olga Marie finally forced her voice to work. Her confidence wavered as the goddess fixed her attention on her again, but the pressure wasn't there. "To solve this singularity, we need a plan. Our options are limited and our timeframe is shrinking rapidly; Chaldea is burning and we need to return to it as soon as possible. Let's review what we know and go forward from there."

* * *

In the following minutes, the team formulated a (very bare-bones) plan: Avoid Berserker while moving towards the Grail cavern, draw out and eliminate Archer, then take on Saber for the grail. So, basically, the overall plan didn't change from Chaldea's the initial, panic-filled machinations they made when they first landed in Fuyuki and met up with Caster.

At least, that was what Ereshkigal gathered from the spirit's incredulous response. "That's it?!" she had screamed, "That's barely a plan! You _can't_ be calling that a plan! Really?!"

"Our Servant," Ritsuka had said, implying that Ereshkigal had subjugated herself not only to one Master but _two_ (a show of insolence she might have trouble forgiving him for) _,_ "will go with you, Director, to scout ahead and make sure Mash and I don't run into any trouble. I understand that your relationship is a little… well, tense, but the director is the most experienced magus here and, no offense to Mash, from what I've heard you're the strongest offensive power we have right now." Ereshkigal remembered vividly the ragged, pained breath he took. "I'm not in any condition to keep up with you two. Mash and I will follow as closely behind as we can, but you can't let me slow you down. Humanity's history depends on us getting this done in a timely manner."

Thus, Ereshkigal's spirit form floated behind a silent director as they navigated the rubble of a ruined Fuyuki. The goddess would give directions now and again (she _had_ created a map of the entire city, after all) but otherwise kept to herself. Her brief interactions with the girl were enough to brand her as 'Ishtar-like,' and thus Ereshkigal didn't want to have anything to do with her. However, their current circumstances didn't allow for such drastic measures. She focused on the passing scenery instead, and let her spirits protect the girl per Ritsuka's request.

Even burning and ruined, Fuyuki was still another place to explore. She was secretly glad Olga couldn't see her face as she silently oo'd and ah'd at, well… the fire. There were remnants of the modern world, shopfronts and gutted vehicles, but not enough for her to satisfy her curiosity. The goddess didn't want to admit her disappointment, but at least it was warm here compared to her underworld.

The goddess frowned. She kept talking about _her_ underworld, but… she didn't preside over anything in these modern times. After the Age of Gods, the deities of her time faded away, or morphed into some other divine entity. Her plans of greeting Risuka after death were, admittedly, nothing more than a nice fantasy. It would be impossible unless she pulled his soul into a cage before she disappeared. Her Noble Phantasm allowed her to temporarily create Kur, but it was more like a reality marble than her actual domain. Actually thinking about the logistics of her dreams further dampened Ereshkigal's mood, so she turned her focus back to their mission.

According to the small group she found herself apart of, a Caster native to this singularity told them that certain corrupted Servants were defending the Grail in a cavern beneath the remnants of a local shrine. Something about their description of the blue-haired caster annoyed her, and she had no words about the blind trust they put in this man, but if those were her Master's wishes… so be it. Some of the fog clouding her memory cleared just enough for her to know 'this was right.' It was just a feeling, but something she felt confident enough in to let them continue as is. Recalling any details was near impossible; if anything, her memories of the Babylonian singularity were fading further away, but there was nothing she could do about that now.

The director and Roman hypothesized that Archer, after encountering an incredibly powerful Servant such as herself, would retreat and fortify their base. Ereshkigal was able to confirm that the cavern they talked about was the same her spirits had clocked earlier, so they at least had a location to work off of. She never realized how much planning went into solving the singularities. To her, they were just stories of adventure and action now locked away into feelings of wanderlust and vague scenes running through her memory. This whole 'strategizing' thing was… tedious.

The ruined city made for difficult travel- for the 'human,' at least. Ereshkigal's spirit flowed here and there, not in the least concerned about rubble, fire, or cracks in the ground. By command, though, she was forced to be concerned enough about the girl to stop and wait for her to cross an exceptionally large fissure splitting a road in half. It wasn't a command-seal induced command, but the order to 'treat the director as if she's your Master' was enough to bind her, at least somewhat. The goddess took on her physical form on the other side of the gap.

The blonde's body remained primly seated on what used to be the wall of a building. She said nothing, merely watching the young spirit gauge the distance and prepare to jump. It seemed she knew better than to ask the Lancer to _carry_ her across; no, something like that was far beneath her stature. She would be reprehensive even if Ritsuka himself asked that of her. Well, maybe not...

The goddess absently turned to look into the broken storefronts lining the street. After a moment, she stood and brushed off her maroon cloak, pulled it snug, and walked towards the shattered windows. While much was destroyed, the thoughts of seeing new things in the outside world drew her to window shop as much as she could without betraying her royal air. Finding anything intact, though, was another issue entirely. It was all just ash and rubble.

Something twinged at her psyche. Her head snapped back towards her mana battery on instinct. Was the girl in danger? The world seemed to slow as Ereshkigal tried to figure out why Ritsuka's order kept replaying in her mind. Olga had started running towards the fissure, blue lines of magic pumping through her legs-

That was it! Ereshkigal tore into action, the ground behind her shattering under the force. Just as the spirit girl reached the edge, prepared to make a jump any mage could make easily, the light blue magic crackled and flickered. Her reinforcement spell failed and sputtered out at the crucial moment. With a yelp of surprise, Chadlea's director stumbled and would have fallen into the earth had Ereshkigal not closed the distance and caught her roughly by the collar. The goddess threw her to the other side before returning herself.

"Oww…" she muttered, rubbing what would surely turn into a nasty series of bruises on her right arm.

"Are you daft?! Be more careful!" Ereshkigal hissed, eyes flaring yellow.

"What… why did my reinforcement fail? That was a perfect cast!"

"Of course the spell failed, you're-" Ereshkigal choked on the last words, 'a spirit, physical reinforcement works differently.' The Throne picked that exact moment to shut her up. How tedious.

Olga Marie's expression darkened. "I'm _what,_ oh great goddess?"

Sarcasm? How crude. "Nothing but mortal."

"Hah!" She barked. Her glare didn't lessen. "You seem fine with other mortals, _Servant_. You're _very_ respectful of Fujimaru. What were you actually going to call me? Incompetent? A failure? Is that what you were going to say? Go ahead, speak your mind. You've been so unwilling to show me any modicum of respect so far, so please. What am I?"

Ereshkigal cursed her luck. Of course it would end up like this. The little spirit girl had an attitude on par with Ishtar herself, and now with this talk of respect… "Fine. I was attempting to be cordial with you, but if you're so ready to fight, so be it."

Ereshkigal took a deep breath and restrained her Authority. She didn't want to accidentally exorcise the girl, after all. "You ask me for respect but give none in return. I am not a weapon. I am not a tool. I am not some pet at your beck and call, as you seem to believe. I may not have had a choice in the matter, but I am still a damned goddess! And yet you have the gall to call me blondie, to order me around like some common menial- of course I don't respect you! You've done nothing to earn it!"

Olga Marie grit her teeth. "You say that, but you cared more about an unconscious Fujimaru than either Mash or me!"

"Yes, my _Master._ As much as I hate the implications of that word, my first priority is protecting them!"

Olga Marie brought her hand to her chest. "I summoned you!" she cried, slamming her hand to her chest again. "I'm providing you with mana!" Another slam. "I'm everything _but_ your Master, so just listen to me so we can get out of this without dying!"

"Then stop acting like a spoiled, petulant child!" Ereshkigal shot back. "If you want to take the lead so much, why don't you act like an actual leader?!"

"I'M TRYING!" she screamed. The following silence roared between them, interrupted by a single sniffle from Olga Marie. Tears shone orange under the surrounding flames, sparkling at the corners of the director's eyes. "What do you want from me?! What expectations do I have to live up to now!? I know I'm a failure! I know I'll never live up to everyone's expectations! I am Olga Marie Animusphere, the failed Director of Chaldea, unqualified as a Master and passable as a magus. My father died and hoisted this project, his life's work, onto me and just half a day ago I saw all of it go up in flames. Do you think that I'm utterly unaware of how useless I am right now? Of how empty all of my words are? I haven't left that cold, isolated facility in three fucking years in a vain attempt to pull everything together, and the only person who offered me a foundation to stand on is probably dead. I'm absolutely terrified right now, but if I don't hold it together then Fujimaru and Mash are going to break down too, and then where are we?! We're _dead._ I'm just trying my best to do a job I never even asked for, so can you please cut me some damned slack!?"

Ereshkigal blinked. She didn't know how to respond. Something told her that she very much misjudged Olga's character. The girl was a mess of tears, but her brows still furrowed in frustration and her eyes drilled into Ereshkigal's. After a tense beat, the girl turned away. Neither continued walking.

The goddess was thankful for the following silence and the time it allowed her to collect her thoughts. "I… I apologize," she finally said. The act of apologizing to a mortal grated on her divinity, but Ereshkigal made the conscious decision that, maybe, befriending even difficult mortals would help expand her horizons and enrich her experience on this plane. That, and… this girl's plight registered strongly with her own experiences. Her actions made sense- Ereshkigal deigned to believe that, if her circumstances were slightly different, she would have ended up being a very similar person. "I believe we both made… assumptions about each other."

She saw Olga Marie's shoulders shudder as she let out a shaking sigh. "My behavior has been… unbecoming. Please forget it."

Ereshkigal planned her diction carefully, handpicking each word. "Shall we… begin again, as it were? Our current dynamic will do nothing but hinder our chances of survival."

"Let's."

Both knew that there was more to be said if they truly wanted to start over. Ereshkigal, however, had stooped as low to apologize to a mortal- a goddess was never supposed to admit mistakes. She felt no actual damage to her pride, but everything she knew about being a goddess said that she couldn't go any further, couldn't say anything more that might compromise her position. She could only guess as to why Olga Marie clammed up.

A moment passed and the two resumed their walk towards the cave. Ereshkigal briefly considered returning to spirit form, but it didn't feel right anymore. She telepathically checked in with Ritsuka; while his life was no longer at risk, the healing took a huge toll on his body and he was having trouble keeping up the pace. What a cute human, continuously pushing himself further… She adored that drive of his, but she also worried for his safety. Ereshkigal saved his life, but he was far from perfectly healthy. If attacked by an enemy Servant, he would be an easy target.

She and the girl had to take the Archer out before he had that opportunity. Ereshkigal would never say it to his face, but Ritsuka was a liability right now. She made sure to pull Mash to the side and tell her as much.

She also made sure that Mash knew to take him and run the other way if a Servant appeared. If a Servant appeared, it meant Ereshkigal failed. If Ereshkigal failed… no, she couldn't think like that. This was her moment to prove herself as a reliable goddess of victory. She _could not_ fail. If she failed and had to spend eternity in the cold, lonely silence of the Throne…

She could not fail.

"Your 'champion,' as you call him, has a sound strategic mind." Olga Marie admitted, pulling Ereshkigal out of her head. "Many fledgling Masters try to do everything themselves. Even the A Team, for so long, would hardly work together or delegate tasks. But… well, maybe it's just because he's lazy."

Ereshkigal pushed her spear into an especially steep pile of rubble to stabilize herself as she stepped over it. Olga Marie, a few steps in front of the goddess, didn't notice the jolt of red energy that shot through the earth and crumbled the ground beneath her. Ereshkigal let a small smile grace her face as the woman-spirit-thing stumbled and fell. "You call him my champion and lazy in the same breath? You're quite the bold one."

Olga Marie lifted herself off of the cracked asphalt, pushing her hair back and shooting the goddess a glare. "Bold? Please. The only thing I knew about Ritsuka Fujimaru before this disaster started was that he was a disrespectful Master candidate who fell asleep during the first five minutes of my welcoming lecture. You and I both are just lucky he turned out to be more reliable than my first impression of him. If he, the only one with Master aptitude here, happened to be a complete idiot… the underworld would find itself heavily overpopulated."

Ereshkigal let out a light giggle befitting royalty. She would've let out a full 'Ohoho!' after learning such a cute and adorable tidbit about her Master's fledgeling steps, but every time she considered a bolt of annoyance crashed through her. Did her host have something against 'Ohoho,' the laugh of royalty? No. That was impossible. They never would've suited Ereshkigal if they had.

But, Ereshkigal would admit, her defensiveness of her champion made her forget that he was but a child compared to the person he would be in… how many singularities was it? It didn't matter.

"Oh? I'm glad someone found his idiocy amusing," Olga sighed, stopping for a moment at the foot of a residential hill. Ruined homes lined the ascent, weaving along with the winding streets. Their goal waited at the top. The director took a deep breath and began her climb, Ereshkigal right behind. She didn't understand why Olga Marie appeared so reticent about the hike. The flatlands surrounding her palace never allowed for such activities and, she would admit, hiking a lush mountain filled with wildlife and flora was like a dream to her. This 'mountain' may not have been lively in any sense of the word, but… well, Ereshkigal could round up.

"I do enjoy the occasional humorous tale," Ereshkigal half-lied through her teeth, pushing aside her desire to sit and listen to more stories instead of actually resolving the singularity. "With my position, I don't often hear them."

Olga Marie shuddered. "I've interacted with enough necromancers to know what you mean. The dead don't tell the best stories."

' _Oh, the irony.'_ Ereshkigal thought while carefully stepping by a burning car, letting the conversation into a slightly-more-companionable silence than the pair had achieved in the past. The flaming chassis distracted the goddess from her complicated relationship with necromancers enough to avoid that rabbit hole. ' _I wonder if I'll get the opportunity to drive an automobile in Chaldea… human toys are so fascinating!'_

* * *

Even with a distracted (but still reliable) goddess, the duo reached the stairs to the temple without incident. It was only when they approached that they realized why, exactly, the walk had been so quiet.

Archer sat at the first of many landings, the first space of respite on the long pilgrimage up the mountain and, unfortunately, the only safe way to reach the cavern now exposed to open air just over the ridge. He only stood as they reached the foot of the staircase, but Olga Marie still found his casual air off-putting. Ereshkigal stopped and motioned for the director to stand behind her.

"You're an Archer, yet you let us approach you like this?" the goddess questioned. "What's your game?"

Archer smirked, warping the tattoo (or was it a scar?) under his left eye. "After your display earlier, trying to snipe you just seemed like a waste of mana." Twin blades, black and white, materialized in his hands. The tension in the air thickened to the point of oppression, but neither Servant moved an inch.

"So you wish to fight a Lancer-class Servant in close quarters combat?" Olga Marie asked, careful not to step away from Ereshkigal's protection.

Archer huffed. "It's hard to exchange witty banter if you can't hear me."

The tree-cast shadows squirmed at the border of the stairway. Archer's eyes didn't leave Ereshkigal, but he did shift his weight slightly when the Gallû spirits made themselves known.

"Wrong answer?" he asked. His smirk only grew as a ring of red spears formed around Ereshkigal in a flash of crimson lightning. The new blades orbited her slowly, sparking maroon occasionally. "I can see now why you were compatible with her… quick to violence, aren't we?"

"Just averse to wasting time," Ereshkigal responded. The ring of spears launched themselves at the Archer with rapid-fire cracks of thunder. Within the same breath, Gallû beasts ripped out of the darkness to descend on the Archer.

In the same second, Archer dove to the left, ripping through spirits in a flicker of black and white and disappearing into the cover of the trees. The impact of Ereshkigal's spears on the stairs lit up the night, giving Ereshkigal just the millisecond she needed to register Archer's bow materializing in his hands. Three swords tore out of the foliage like arrows in quick succession, forcing Ereshkigal to grab Olga Marie and jump backwards.

The howl of Gallû beasts charging through the trees gave a brief moment of respite as they forced Archer to reposition. Ereshkigal materialized her blazing lance in her free hand and stabbed it into the ground, using its power to raise a wall of cages between the duo and Archer's last known location.

"Director, stay-"

Ereshkigal's eyes widened and she acted before Olga Marie even registered a threat. The goddess grabbed her by the collar and threw her backwards a blink of an eye before one of Archer's blades, an infinitely thin katana, wove between the bars of Ereshkigal's bunker of cages and lodged itself where her heart had been.

The wind left Olga Marie's lungs as she bounced once, the pain informing her that her physical reinforcement had failed yet again, but Ereshkigal caught her before she bounced a second time.

' _Prepare to shield yourself!'_

The mental order forced her into action. Ereshkigal brought her to a stop as gently as she could in the situation, but in another flicker of movement she was gone, off to engage the Archer again and leaving the director on her own.

Olga Marie didn't realize she was chanting her protection spell until the translucent emerald wall appeared before her, just in time to catch the black half of Archer's twin blades. The sword lodged itself three-quarters into her shield, less than a foot from skewering her between the eyes. Her legs shook like jelly, threatening to evaporate under her like the blade evaporated into blue dust, glimmering peacefully as the fight went on. Olga Marie, for the umteenth time in the past few hours, felt very, very small, and very, _very_ mortal.

But she couldn't afford to freak out, not when human history was on the line. The director's eyes could barely follow the fight between Servants- to any human, even a trained magus like herself, the battle played out like a slideshow. Servants appeared and disappeared, their existences punctuated with clangs of metal and cracks of force. Ereshkigal's spear of fire left a line of orange light in her wake, but even with that as a crutch the director felt like she was a cat trying to keep track of a laser pointer. A Servant would pause for half a second, only to disappear and leave a crater where they once were. A human could only hope to _feel_ the fight, maybe hear it if they were lucky.

How was she supposed to help? She couldn't give Ereshkigal any strategies if she couldn't see what was-

Ereshkigal's cloaked form slammed into her shield, cracking and bending it with the force. Three pinpoints of red light followed the goddess closely, but a swarm of spirits swallowed the shots before they could impact her directly. However, their spirit bodies only provided so much protection; an orange glow rumbled beneath the black, cloud-like wall. The spirits managed to muffle the explosion, but the force as the fireball that ripped through them was enough to break through Olga's shield and send her and Ereshkigal tumbling backwards.

' _GET UP AND MOVE!'_

Ereshkigal's command spurred the director onwards. She rolled to the side, narrowly dodging another blade. Olga Marie could feel her injuries accumulatingy- if adrenaline hadn't been surging through her, she doubted she would be able to move. She forced herself up, ignoring the burning sensation in her quads, and frantically searched for Ereshkigal.

Behind her, the goddess pushed herself up, leaning on her weapon for support. Her cloak was in tatters, and there were various cuts and gashes along her body. When she raised her head, however, Olga Marie saw Ereshkigal's will burn saffron in her eyes. Injured as she was, this goddess still blazed with divine Authority.

Archer was no less worse for wear, but neither Servant had the opportunity to slow down. He emerged from the treeline with his blades in his hands and four arrows leading him. The ringing of Ereshkigal's bell silenced all else, summoning a wolf-like spirit to grab the goddess's cloak and drag her out of danger in the nick of time. Her spear was already up to block the Archer's swords before she even found her footing.

Archer pushed forward, taking advantage of the goddess's lack of balance to keep her on the defensive. Even with the spirits snapping at him on all sides, his speed and constant stream of weapons, tricks, and martial abilities kept her on the backfoot. Ereshkigal's lance of sunlight burned bright, spinning and twirling in defense. Occasionally it would scrape the ground, igniting bolts of lightning that lashed out at Archer. Spiked cages erupted from the earth, stabbing at the aggressor and giving Ereshkigal the moment she needed to reset.

She was the Terrible Earth Mother. All of the earth was her domain. She would not be matched by this nameless Servant. Olga Marie Animusphere knew this to be fact.

But the appearance of a golden blade signalled a different victory. Its light dwarfed Ereshkigal's lance, and it cut through her weapon like butter. In her instant of shock, Archer lashed out with a brutal kick to her sternum that sent her flying, crashing into the remnants of a home directly behind Olga Marie.

Olga Marie turned her head to follow the goddess's trajectory on instinct. She didn't see Archer appear in front of her; the director's only indication of her impending death was a slight change in temperature as close proximity to Archer's golden sword warmed her skin.

Time around Olga Marie slowed to a crawl. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the glint of gold, ready to cut into her exposed neck and chest. At no point did she believe she could dodge the attack- Archer had already proven himself much faster than she could ever hope to be. She highly doubted Ereshkigal could save her again. The dust hadn't even cleared from the hole the goddess left in the home's entryway; even at her maximum speed, the goddess couldn't stop this one.

In the face of terror, Olga Marie moved. Her right hand flicked up, its magic circuits blazing with life.

' _Gandr!'_

Red and black energy, overloaded far beyond a controlled cast, exploded onto Archer's lower abdomen. He barely flinched- Olga didn't expect him to. For Servants, even the strongest gandr would cause maybe a fraction of a second of vertigo. That fraction of a second wouldn't save a human if they were on their own. In a battle between Servants, however… a fraction of a second of vertigo was as good as paralysis.

Eight maroon spears ripped out of the dilapidated house. Archer stumbled back, blocking two and dodging four others, but two of them struck his torso, pushing him back and nailing him to the ground. In the time it took Olga Marie to fully turn her eyes back towards him, the pack of Gallû spirits had already descended on him and began their feast.

Ereshkigal stumbled back outside, one hand outstretched and the other leaning heavily on a spear like a crutch. Her eyes returned to their normal red color.

"You have healing magic, correct?" Ereshkigal asked, giving Olga Marie a gentle smile. She stumbled as some of the loose dirt gave out beneath her. "I could really use some right now."

Olga Marie stared dumbly for a moment before the words registered. "R-right! Yes, right, of course!"

She ran to Ereshkigal's side and helped lower the Lancer onto a vaguely chair-like piece of broken concrete. The blonde groaned, more in frustration than pain. "What a stupid Archer. I thought I was going to be fighting some long-ranged coward, but noOOoo! Stupid Archer fighting like a stupid Saber… ow!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Olga Marie chuckled her healing magic started flowing. "I'm afraid I don't know any gentler spells. I wasn't meant to be a healing magus, after all."

"Well…" Ereshkigal mumbled, a pout just barely held back by her dignity, "you're still healing me, so you're forgiven!"

Olga Marie almost burst out laughing. She would have if her ribs didn't protest at the thought of it. This was the goddess who had cowed her? She gave the goddess the most genuine smile she could muster. "You saved my life more times than I know. Thank you, truly."

Ereshkigal opened her mouth, blushed, and stammered a little bit before settling on, "Hmp! Of course, I am a reliable goddess after all! And you, mortal, you…" she trailed off and lit up with an even brighter shade of red. "Y-you did-"

" **Unlimited... Blade Works."**

* * *

**A/N:** And that's chapter 3 for you! Thank you for the support on this story! I love getting your feedback and hope to continue to entertain in the future! I finally got to write a scene with Eresh and Olga Marie together, but there will be more of that next chapter. If that didn't scratch your itch for character interaction, stay tuned!

Quick note: I've seen torn discussion online about whether or not Archer has access to Caliburn, and decided to go for it even if he might not. Call it author's decision-making, I guess.

That's all from me. Have a great day, stay awesome, and all that jazz!


	4. Chapter 4

**Quick warning: This one goes pretty mentally dark for what Afterlife has touched so far. Not too terribly, but just thought I'd let you know.**

* * *

The grasp of a Reality Marble closed around them.

The world shone a bright blue, forcing Ereshkigal to cover her eyes. The dazzling light reminded her of her sister, adding to the many reasons this battle drained her. The goddess mentally checked on Olga- luckily, her half-Master seemed to be holding her own.

Ereshkigal was used to (and, admittedly, spoiled by) the humans of the Age of Gods, so she didn't quite understand until the battle started that most Masters of this age couldn't physically keep up with battles between Servants. In her original timeline, while she couldn't remember the details of the fight at this point, she wasn't the one in charge of keeping Ritsuka safe. She hadn't even taken it into consideration.

Here, now… the Archer took every chance he got to take pot shots at Olga Marie, much to Lancer's chagrin. Defending someone was annoying. If she were able to focus fully on Archer, the fight probably wouldn't have left her as banged up as it did- however, she could concede that her injuries were shallow enough. She was tired, but confident in her abilities to fight the Saber next.

She made that observation before entering the Reality Marble. The Reality Marble shook that confidence.

The Archer, as weak as she perceived him to be, was resourceful, clever, and an all-around pain in the ass. He should've been dead minutes ago. But every time she held his life in her hands, every time she was poised to end it easily, there was just… a twinge. The twinge didn't _stop_ her from doing anything, and saying it 'made' her hesitate was giving it too much credit. She hesitated because she didn't know why his life mattered to her. She hesitated because she didn't know why this battle had made her so unbearably sad. She hesitated because, as much as time was of the essence, she wanted to know why Archer looked at her like he knew her.

And that inexcusable stupidity got her and her charge trapped in a Reality Marble. Curiosity be damned, they were now cut off from Ritsuka and Mash and at the mercy of whatever Archer conjured. Ereshkigal failed to do her duty. It was unforgivable, and she would hold herself accountable, but not forgiving herself would have to wait.

Ereshkigal lowered her arm to observe the mental image made real. Already, spears of red orbited her, ready to strike or defend her as the situation changed. She cast her gaze over the barren landscape. Broken swords, rusted and chipped, sprouted from the sand like the dry husks of burnt foliage. The world itself gasped, a quick rush of air snuffed out in an instant, sending particles of the sand-like rust into the air- Ereshkigal amended her previous observation. There was no sand here. The dunes, coated in the dense burgundy of iron, were entirely made up of the broken down remains of the armory's previous generation. Enormous gears stuttered and shook in the sky above them, but their functionality has long since expired. They held in the iron-tinted atmosphere as a remnant of what once was; whatever mighty forge (how did she know it was supposed to be a forge?) this was supposed to be was now falling apart at the seams.

Literally, she noted. Pockets of void, areas of pitch black, chewed at the boundary of the Marble. The horizon stirred and cracked, reality pushing and prodding in an attempt to break down and absorb this pocket dimension. Whatever warped the Archer eroded the essence of his inner world.

Archer stood across from her, the strain of life pressing down on him. A normal human, and probably most maguses, would not be alive after the injuries he suffered. His silhouette barely resembled the broad, muscular man he once was- the spirits had completely consumed his left arm, and what remained of him as a whole looked like a dog's month-old chew toy. But still he stood, determination in his eyes. Even bloodied, his white hair gleaned under the red sun.

He seemed… softer, somehow.

Why was he still standing? Why did he summon his Reality Marble when he can barely stand? Why did he keep fighting? Why wouldn't he just _rest?_

Archer smiled at her. Even as she tried to reject her host's feelings, the grin ripped at her heart. "I'm sorry, Rin."

Without missing a beat she responded, "I'm not Rin."

His smile didn't waver. "I know. She's been gone for awhile. I never got to… say that to her, so..." The Archer let his gaze drop to the ground. "Lancer, whatever Heroic or Divine Spirit you are that inhabited her… heh..." he coughed, blood flowing from his lips like molasses. "Saber doesn't talk to me much anymore, but… I got the gist of it. You're… you can fix this, right?" A glint of desperation. "Please tell me you can fix this."

Olga stepped up and eyed the blades around her warily. She still held a respectable distance back from the two Servants, but the three spirits Ereshkigal had assigned to the director bubbled at her feet, ready to pull the ghost girl back at any second regardless of how far she was. Still, Ereshkigal watched the Archer's movements like a hawk as Olga Marie spoke. "Chaldea is here to correct this timeline. We will fix the corruption in this singularity. It will be like nothing happened at all."

"Thank goodness…"

It was barely a mutter on the breeze. A second later, far behind Archer, a flash of gold flickered on the horizon.

"Thank you." A gleaming golden sword inlaid with blue metal flew into his open hand. It was the same blade he broke through Ereshkigal's defense with earlier, but… clearer. The blurriness, the flaws in its first appearance were gone. This was the perfect imitation. He didn't look her in the eyes anymore, even though his ever-present smile remained. "After you defeat me… please tell Saber that Shirou says he's sorry for failing her again. She's… she's the only one I have left."

"This goddess has heard your request," Ereshkigal nodded. Foreign emotions racked her soul, but she stifled them with her divine presence. Her host's feelings retreated further into her mind, but the melancholy remained. She couldn't let the twinge draw this out any further

The pockets of black at the Reality Marble's edge bubbled and seethed. Gallû spirits ripped themselves out of the darkness, packs of dark beasts descending on the lone Archer like wolves falling on an injured deer. The rhythmic pounding of their feet against the sand replaced silence, but even as dust rose a calmness fell among the inhabitants of the world.

"A Reality Marble is someone's inner world made real… my spirits attack the soul." Ereshkigal took one step forward, then another and another. "Infiltrating an inner world is nothing to them."

The smaller spirits that reached the Archer first dissipated in a flash of gold. "Keep track of how many I take down, will you? I have a reputation to uphold." Even now, a small smirk danced on his lips. The Archer twirled the golden blade in a storm of strikes and slashes, mowing down Ereshkigal's spirits with expert grace, but both servants knew that he would eventually fall. Still, he fought, if only to prove a point and… slow them down.

Three flickers of light in the distance foreshadowed three blades ripping through the air and slamming into masses of spirits with explosive force. Her army thinned for just a moment, enough for Ereshkigal to see the deep gash mutilating the left side of Archer's face. Still, the holy blade flashed.

"... urk!"

A light gasp of pain drew Ereshkigal's attention. She looked back over her shoulder to see Olga Marie hunched over, a light sheen of sweat covering her face. The goddess quickly scanned the spirit for blood (which, admittedly, was not her brightest moment because spirits did not bleed) but found none.

"Animusphere? What's-"

Olga's figure flickered into transparency for a moment.

Mana.

Ereshkigal was stealing her mana. In her haste to dismiss Olga Marie as 'not her Master,' she forgot that, regardless, the director was her source of mana. She couldn't drain her like this- summoning this many spirits would drain any mortal. The ones in the real world had been summoned sporadically over a length of time- after switching planes, she had to summon many more at once. Ereshkigal, while divine, still inhabited a mortal body and took mana from a mortal spirit. Why did fighting as a servant have to have so many restrictions?! She'd have to do it personally, then-

"No! Keep going! We can't afford to risk you getting hurt, Lancer!" Olga cried, apparently tapped into Ereshkigal's psyche enough to understand what she was about to do. "Don't engage him directly! I can handle this!"

Obviously, Olga Marie didn't know her body was now see-through. She did, however, probably feel the same wave of vertigo that nearly brought Ereshkigal to her knees. A second wave of nausea pushed her even closer to the ground. The mana drain finally overwhelmed the link between battery/Master and Servant, hitting Ereshkigal with its full force. She only vaguely registered Olga Marie falling to the ground behind her.

She dispelled her spirits. Archer raised an eyebrow, confused, then put the pieces together. "Oh. It seems my dramatic last words were a bit premature." He tried to chuckle, but it devolved into a mess of bloody coughs. He recovered just enough to make another jab. "Seems like a masterless rogue like me might be better off than a fancy lancer with some _dead_ weight for a Master."

The Archer tried to stand tall, but the extent of his injuries brought him to one knee. The golden blade clattered out of his hand, dispersing into golden dust over the sand. He barely constituted a living being- even as a Servant, Archer barely held himself together. There was no part of him unwounded or free of blood. Still, he looked up at Ereshkigal with defiance. "Just kidding," he muttered, his legs caving beneath him. One of them, barely connected in the first place, started fading away. "I always knew you'd be the death of me, not-Rin." He flashed a grin just as living became too much to bear and the rest of his body began unravelling at the seams. "Eighty-four, by the way."

The false world held its breath as he Reality Marble groaned and creaked, but didn't instantly disperse. Ereshkigal watched as the void on the horizon began eating away the forge-world, slowly at first, but gradually speeding up like a drop of water falling down a window.

She felt empty.

What an awkward last stand for a guy who tried so hard to be cool. Maybe he'd be at peace now, knowing that someone else was there to put a stop to this malignant singularity. The thought brought the faintest of smiles to her face.

"Battle complete, Animusphere. It may take a little bit of time before the Reality Marble dispels, but-"

Ereshkigal paled when she finally turned to the flickering, fading spirit of Olga Marie.

* * *

She was so tired. The pain of having mana ripped out of her fell into the background of her mind, covered by the static of exhaustion. Somewhere, somehow, Olga Marie noted that she was conscious, but none of her senses registered anything.

She felt like she was floating in a vat of nothingness, empty and dark. She felt the dull pain, like she was ripped apart and put back together then pumped full of painkillers. It felt… hauntingly familiar.

Flashes of the inside of sensory-deprivation chamber clawed up to the surface of her memories, tinted red with pain and magic. She remembered the sensation of her magical circuits being pulled and stretched, cut and restitched, forced into a mold that might bring her the compatibility she craved. Power. Acceptance.

The doctor said it had a five percent chance of working. She was more than willing to sacrifice her body for that.

She also remembered being told that she might die and thinking, ' _If this doesn't work, that's the next best alternative.'_

And yet, it didn't work, and she didn't die. She couldn't even fail like she wanted to, instead just adding one more to the list of many increasingly drastic measures she took to change herself into someone Father would acknowledge.

It was the capstone of her idiocy, and the final nail in the coffin of their relationship. The point where he looked at her and said, "Stop wasting our precious money and time. I've let you be a part of this project because you're my heiress, but if you continue to drag down our family name I'll disown you without hesitation."

" **Don't be dead weight."**

She finally reached a point where Father would be able to find a use for her, only to fail again. If she'd gotten this opportunity years ago, when Father was still alive… she rayshifted! She fought alongside a Servant, maybe not as a full Master, but as something close enough! She was doing something!

Maybe… if this had happened earlier, he wouldn't have killed himself.

… She was holding Ereshkigal back. That's all she was really doing. If Olga Marie had just sat back and let Ritsuka have the full contract, or let Ereshkigal make the decisions for herself… why was she even here? No matter what, she was in the way. She was dead weight.

She was so tired of trying.

The exhaustion started pulling her further and further down, further away from consciousness. She could resist it; she knew she could resist it, but why would she? Olga Marie couldn't remember the last time she actually rested, and… well, maybe just fading away would make everyone happier. Her mind started drifting outward like a fog. Her thoughts stopped linking together, starting then trailing off before reaching their conclusion. She could just… let go.

But the bars of a cage closed around her, locking her in place in a cold embrace. She wanted to travel to the darkness beyond the bars, but she couldn't push through it. She couldn't get out. Someone was holding her back. Why? Why would they? Why wouldn't they just let her disappear? She knew they hated her, knew they couldn't care less. She knew Ereshkigal thought she was some petulant brat, she knew Ritsuka thought she was some bossy bitch, she knew Mash… she knew Mash had every right to kill her herself.

' _No, let me… let me go.'_

"It's okay, Olga Marie."

Her drifting mind snapped back to reality, accompanied by physical awareness hitting her like a truck. The muted world she was drifting through was replaced by one of fiery pain, grating noise and the taste of metal. It _hurt._ She was doubled over, curled up on the sand. Her own sweat pulled her down, making each shuddering breath heavy as her chest tried to push back against the weight. Her sense of touch, absent for so long, sparked with overstimulation at each grain of rust grated against her fingertips, slicing at her like a dune of daggers.

Her eyes flew open, to her immediate regret. Visual information assaulted Olga Marie's brain- what was supposed to be burgundy burned her retinas as an oversaturated scarlet, as if the ground was the sun itself.

She shut her eyes with a gasp, the taste of iron choking her. The feeling of particulates grating down her throat threw her into a coughing fit. She curled up into herself, hacking into the ground, trying desperately to shut out the world. If she covered her ears, the light from the world pushed through her eyelids. If she covered her eyes, a sound of radio static pounded against her eardrums. Everything hurt.

She wanted to scream out, to beg for someone to make it stop. Each and every one of her senses was turned up to eleven, and it hurt so much more because, somewhere in her mind, Olga Marie realized that she just moments away from peace before being dragged back from the brink.

"Shh, shh, shh," a soft, angelic voice soothed, a stream of cold water against the fire of her world. "It's okay now."

Something fell over her shoulders. The weight pressed down on her, but it was cool and the heaviness comforting. A cloak. Colder hands pulled it snug around her, then traced around to rub her back gently. Olga Marie felt her harsh breaths soften under the goddess's hands.

"The fight's over now. You're okay."

And then she was pulled closer.

It was a comforting hug, nothing more, but she still gasped at the contact. One hand rubbed light circles into her back, the other held her steadily. Olga wanted to feel uneasy, to prove that she didn't like hugs, never liked them, and that was okay, but Ereshkigal's voice whispered reassurances to her, calm and clear and benevolent, and Olga's resistance melted away. Each 'It's alright now' chipped at her walls, every 'You're okay' cracked her facade. All spoken to her with a warmth she'd craved but never got, in an embrace she'd told herself she would never need because she knew she'd never feel it from those who mattered most.

She let out a shuddering breath. She hadn't returned the goddess's hug, not yet. How could she? She nearly cost Ereshkigal the fight by running out of mana. She was dead weight. She didn't deserve this. The reason her mother never hugged her was because she didn't deserve it. The reason her father never praised her was because she never earned it. Why was Ereshkigal comforting her?

Lev told her that comfort bred complacent, and reassurance, weakness. Olga believed those words for so long, clawing and clawing and clawing her way higher, higher up the ranks of the magical society that forsook her family. She didn't need this. She felt the tears building in her eyes, the sob in her throat, but she pushed them back.

"That must've been really scary for you. It's alright, I've got you now."

Something warm and wet streamed down her cheeks. She refused to admit they were tears. A strangled hiccup broke through her lips, but she bit down on them before they could betray her further. She sniffled.

"W-why d-d-didn't you j-just let a u-useless Master like m-me d-die?"

Master? How could she be so presumptuous?! She wasn't even close to a Master, she knew that, then why did she..? Olga would've cringed at her mistake had she not been fighting back against her body. Talking that much almost broke the floodgates, and she was an Animusphere. She would not cry. Lev told her. Never cry. Don't let anyone see you at your weakest. Don't let anyone see you acting weak at all. Be strong, always. Be strong, Olga Marie Animusphere. Tell yourself that, because no one else will.

"Shh, no more of that, now."

"B-but I-"

"You did well, Olga Marie Animusphere."

Olga choked on her next breath. Something in her struggled to resist, tried to find some way where that wasn't praise. There was no way, right..? But Ereshkigal squeezed, and her meaning was made clear. The young girl broke into an ugly sob, burying herself in Ereshkigal's shoulder and, for the first time in years, letting someone else see her cry. Ereshkigal's hand moved up and stroked her hair in a slow, calming cadence.

"It's so hard leading Chaldea all on your own, isn't it?" The director nodded into the deity's shoulder. She barely registered the growing wet spots where her eyes were as Ereshkigal hummed in affirmation. "You've been alone for so long, haven't you? Doing everything you can to prove yourself, living up to the expectations placed on you even though there was no one around you to see. You've thrown your entire life into your duties, and you made something _great._ Chaldea, _your_ Chaldea, it's going to save the world, Olga. And I promise that I will support your vision as best I can. Because you've done so, so well, and I want to honor that. You have this goddess's blessing, Olga Marie Animusphere. You have my praise, Champion."

.

.

.

* * *

 **A/N:** This... ho boy.

This one was a journey. It's a shorter chapter, yeah, but it just reached a point where I said what I wanted to say and just had to let it breathe. That last scene... would you believe I wrote it physically, in a notebook, while sitting outside of a Jamba Juice? That makes it the only physical draft of Afterlife to exist, period. Just a fun little tidbit.

The next chapter will bring an end to Singularity F (unless something changes, don't trust me on this), and will finally let me write the scene that gave birth to this entire idea. I have started up classes again, so just as this chapter took some time to get out, the next one will take a little bit.

Quick shout-out to Pallan Minerva for helping me brainstorm music to inspire this. He and the crew on his discord have been really supportive of this story, and probably hold a lot of the responsibility for me still being so excited about writing it. That, and the reviews, follows and favorites I've been getting from all of you. I couldn't ask for a better community, thank you so much.

Best,

Endy


	5. Chapter 5

Ereshkigal gave Olga Marie a final check as the Reality Marble finished crumbling. The girl was still shaking in her arms, but that was okay. She was shaking. She was physical. The goddess had to effectively pull her soul back together, rebuild the strange not-real body before Olga Marie's meager remaining mana failed to hold her on this plane.

Even as the champion cried into her shoulder, she felt relief wash over her. It wasn't until Olga had spoken that she realized how similar their situations were, how much Olga Marie was like a greener version of herself who needed acceptance, validation, and love, and the world refused to give it to her.

Barely a day into her summoning, and already she had two champions. Ishtar probably would've lost one by now. The goddess let a tone-deaf smirk grace her face for the briefest of seconds.

They huddled together on the cold cement for a few minutes longer, Ereshkigal stroking the girl's hair in silence. The goddess forgot her dignity for the time, giving Olga the support she herself craved when she reached rock bottom in Kur.

It was nice.

But, as time passed and the director pulled herself together, they had to separate. Ereshkigal couldn't say why exactly she felt a little emptier as the hug broke off, but as the warmth of Olga's body left her there was a twinge of melancholy. It passed, as all things did.

Olga stood and stretched out, clutching Ereshkigal's cloak around her. Her eyes stung red with tears shed, and her white hair was tousled beyond easy repair, but after a deep breath and shift in posture, the 'Director of Chaldea' persona took over.

"I'm… sorry you had to see that," she murmured, a blush evident on her cheeks.

Ereshkigal flashed her a gentle smile. "You may lean on my shoulder any time, Olga Marie. I am a reliable goddess, suitable to be depended on in any way you need. Do not think I would abandon my charges."

"Right, right," she tried to wave it off, but a smile tugged at her lips as well. "Either way, we are not finished here. Have you heard from Ritsuka or Mash?"

"Now that you mention it, no. Not since we started fighting Archer."

"Hmm…" Olga brought a finger to her chin in thought. "Could you message them? I haven't heard from Romani, either."

"Of cou-"

A black and red explosion interrupted her, ripping through the mountain above them and screaming through the sky. The beam of darkness travelled well into the atmosphere, splitting clouds before it finally dissipated.

"THOSE IDIOTS!"

Goddess and director sprinted up the stairway towards the mismatched battle, swearing about optimistic, inexperienced morons the entire way.

* * *

Ereshkigal left Olga in her dust long before she reached the cavern's entrance. The director stepped into the maw of darkness, wary of the uneasy stillness. She had felt Eresh drawing at her depleted mana for a brief moment, but after another beam of black split the sky the drain stopped. The director initially feared the goddess's demise, but the link itself was still in place.

' _Lancer? What's your status?'_

No response. Olga, under less adrenaline, might've felt offended or blown off, but she wasn't foolish enough to think the goddess meant to ignore her.

That is, until she entered the threshold. Beyond the ruined exterior, the cavern opened up to something far larger than Olga would ever call natural. The stone exuded dark magic, chilling Olga's sense, but her hope returned as she took in the tableau before her.

Mash held Ritsuka in one arm, her shield with the other. The evidence of battle was clear for all to see; around the Shielder's defence, the earth was scarred deeply. Only the area she inhabited held on, raised more than a foot above the eroded, charred aftereffect of her opponent's strikes. Ritsuka, although there was fresh blood over his chest, still held on. Each breath visibly pained him, but he still looked significantly better than the fight against Berserker. His eyes flickered over to her and he smiled, a sight so contrary to his condition that Olga had to stifle a moment of confusion. He tried to wave, but only managed to vaguely motion to her with his… single command seal.

Olga Marie suddenly felt very, very uncomfortable with her earlier decision to force him to use one on Ereshkigal.

"... the Grand Order is just a futile dream. You're only delaying the inevitable."

' _How does she..?'_

The dark knight kneeling before Ereshkigal, skewered from all sides, could only be Saber. Her blonde hair, so close to white, fell loose and bloodstained over her shoulders. Yellow eyes met Ereshkigal's red, frosty with disdain but not quite catching fire.

She painted the very picture of a defeated king who refused to yield. Much like Archer before her, her gauntleted right hand gripped her cursed sword, even though three spears punctured the joints of that arm alone. The Saber couldn't move, held in place by Kur's stakes. But she still spoke as the undisputed king.

"Without me, you may have been correct. But I am Chaldea's Goddess of Victory. I will not fail the responsibility that I have taken on."

Saber coughed blood, painting her slight smile crimson. "... you took on that responsibility willingly? Fool."

As the knight started fading, Ereshkigal spoke once more. "Your Archer, Shirou, requested that I tell you that he apologizes for failing you. I… hope you can find each other in the afterlife."

"What… what a foolish man he was…" Saber breathed, her voice barely a whisper. Her form shimmered. "He should've abandoned me when he had the chance…"

Ereshkigal frowned, her grip on her spear lessening ever-so-slightly. "Don't ask so easily to be left alone."

"A king must always be alone," Saber countered, her voice ragged but firm. A beat of silence, then, "Although, I must admit… having a familiar peer like him at my side was… nice."

"Don't take them for granted, King," Ereshkigal said. The Saber hummed some non-committal reply, refusing to meet the goddess's eyes until a moment before her body finished its deconstruction. Olga saw something silent pass between the two Servants, something she couldn't quite translate, but she could see Ereshkigal's warm smile and tired eyes watching as the Saber vanished, and that told her enough.

"Confirmed…" Mash stated with an air of caution, "Saber is eliminated, and the Grail retrieved. I… think we won?" Everyone held their positions for just a beat longer before the full weight of the statement hit them.

Mash and Ritsuka relaxed a moment before Olga and Ereshkigal, creating an obvious distinction between 'those who fought Archer' and 'those who didn't.' No Reality Marble consumed them post-mortem, though, and when the golden light of the Grail flickered into existence everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ereshkigal, you're amazing! That was… you saved us!" Ritsuka exclaimed, running up to the goddess with Mash in tow.

Ereshkigal, who had taken it upon herself to retrieve the Grail, flinched at the sudden praise. The golden light of the object she clutched to her chest did nothing to hide the redness of her cheeks. "W-well, of course, I'm a goddess, after all! Y-you… you two had her distracted, anyways, so it was easy to swoop in and… well, I mean-"

"Lady Ereshkigal, if I may…" Mash interrupted, an action so out-of-character Olga blinked twice in show. "Thank you very much. As we've discussed before, I'm still new at this… would you be willing to help me train?"

Ereshkigal raised her chin and let out a haughty laugh. "Of course, Mash. This goddess will help you hone your skills, have I not said as much already? Also, as, umm, tribute, let's say, I'm going to… take some of this mana, if that's okay."

Ereshkigal had already begun draining the Grail before anyone could stop her. If Olga's own condition was any indication, Ereshkigal must've been famished for mana. She didn't blame her.

"Well, you'll have time to train soon! We'll also get you connected to the mana link, well… Da Vinci says we can start the process now!" a familiar, staticky voice chimed in.

"Dr. Roman! You're back!" Ritsuka exclaimed into his communicator.

"Whatever was blocking us seems to have been dealt with. We can rayshift you out anytime. I'm just upset that I can't see your smiling faces."

Ritsuka let out half a cheer, the latter part lost to a wince of pain. Mash sent him a warm smile. Ereshkigal let out a quiet sigh of relief and watched the two share a moment of bliss.

Olga didn't even realize how much stress and adrenaline she had been running on for the past day until she relaxed for a moment and her legs nearly gave out under her. That might have also been to bruises, but she was in so much pain from having her mana drained to near exhaustion to really question what exactly was hurting her at the moment.

She missed the worried glance Ereshkigal shot her way, and how the goddess opened her mouth as if to say something only to find no words would form.

But something was still on her mind. "Grand Order… That Servant said 'Grand Order,' right?"

Ereshkigal nodded. "What of it?"

"It's just…" Olga trailed off. "The only people who know that operation name are related to Chaldea."

Ritsuka raised an eyebrow. "Never even heard of it. Mash?"

Mash shook her head. "I didn't say it."

Olga hummed. She had entertained the idea of the attack on Chaldea being an inside job, but the mention of the Grand Order all but confirmed it. She'd have to be careful upon her return, but now was not the time. "No matter, then. While I do plan on berating you for _stupidly_ assaulting the enemy headquarters on your own-"

Ritsuka held his hands up. "In my defense, my telepathic link to Ereshkigal _was_ severed for a substantial amount of time."

Olga grit her teeth to hold back a tongue lashing. How infuriating this Master could be… "That aside, even if you should've waited because your contract with her hadn't been broken, I _guess_ you did well. And here I was, planning on praising you even more highly… Actually, wait. Mash, you did great. Good job keeping this idiot alive."

"Oh, no, I just… thank you, Director," Mash stammered. An uncertain comfort fell between the two, something Olga Marie would admit she never expected to feel around Mash. Maybe… maybe she should talk to the Demi-Servant a bit more.

She took some time to consider which words to say in what order, but her attempt at connection was interrupted by slow, methodical clapping.

* * *

Ereshkigal _felt_ him cross the threshold. The alien storm of his magical energy twisted her stomach and threw it into a pit of dread. His presence dragged her limbs downwards, the weight of her body amplified tenfold under the sheer gravity of _evil_ suffocating the cavern.

The demon in a top hat clapped, each strike of hand on hand like a snapping bone, and each snap dragging a wince out of the goddess. A gnawing darkness at the back of her mind told her that she _knew_ this corruption from somewhere.

"... Lev?"

Memories of stories were starting to resurface. Lev, Lev, that was… a name Olga muttered often while Ereshkigal pieced her spirit back together. But that wasn't the first time she heard it, that was in front of the campfire in Babylon.

"Professor Lev!"

That was Ritsuka. She'd heard that exact name from him before, with much more animosity. He… was going to do something. He was an enemy of Chaldea. She knew that. Then why..?

"Lev!"

Why did Olga Marie sound like she just reunited with an old friend?

Why was she running towards him?! The goddess barely had the presence of mind to hide two Gallu spirits in the director's shadow before her vision twisted.

A wave of vertigo spun her world as Ereshkigal tried to make sense of the dissonance. She knew Lev was evil. His presence was so inhuman, so anomalous that there was not other truth. But Ritsuka was smiling, and Olga was running to greet him! Mash… Mash seemed confused, vaguely cautious, but… she was always cautious, wasn't she? That came with being a Shielder, right?

Was this a normal kind of corruption for the human world? She'd only met three 'humans' directly, and only one of them was truly human, so she might just be missing the experience to make such a call…

' _I must be wrong…'_

Her senses screamed in opposition, banging at the door to her mind with frantic urgency.

Ereshkigal focused on Olga's voice in an attempt to push down her resistance. She listened to the girl say how hard it all was, how much she went through, and in the corner of her eye the goddess saw Lev _grin_ and it _wasn't right._ There was something minute off about it, like the motion started with the skin on his cheeks rather than the muscles themselves but _no one saw it how did no one else see it?_

She blinked. Hundreds of red eyes blinked back.

But his form was human, and the red eyes didn't exist. His eyes were on her now, though, and her blood ran cold as she felt him _analyze_ her. Olga was beaming, motioning her to come forward. Maybe she just needed to get closer, to get used to the feeling, then her muscles wouldn't feel like jelly...

"Olga summoned you?" Every hair on the back of her neck stood on end as Lev spoke, his voice a deep mockery of humanity. Every inflection was just a little off, like an actor cold-reading a script in an empty room. When she didn't respond, he continued unabated. "How surprising. She's so utterly useless in that regard. Who are you, Servant?"

For a brief moment she broke out of the haze, and her eyes burned gold. "Do not call my champion 'useless,' _Lev,"_ she spat.

"No, Ereshkigal, it's alright! He's right!" Why was she still so elated? Why was she just accepting this? "I was useless and weak, but I summoned you, so it's changed now! Lev, see? I'm her cha-"

"Ereshkigal, hmm? Sumerian Goddess of the Underworld… Ah, yes. So many things make sense now." The goddess's human muscles tensed, an impending call to action looming over her. "You're not a known element in the FATE system, so I take it you were summoned with a catalyst?" He snapped his fingers. The Grail, forgotten in Ereshkigal's hands, teleported to him. Her stomach dropped as she realized, even though she had been draining mana that whole time, she still knew she couldn't fight him if she needed to.

"The lost spirit of a dead Olga Marie Animusphere would be the perfect catalyst for you, reaper."

Ereshkigal had to stand there, gritting her teeth, and Lev revealed everything. She had to stand there as he revealed his betrayal, gloating and reveling in the horrified faces of the humans who trusted him as the image of a world incinerated appeared behind him. She had to stand there as Lev told Olga that the goddess who called her 'champion' knew she was dead the entire time and didn't say anything.

She had to turn away in shame as Olga asked her if it was true.

Lev lurched back and cackled, a disgusting pseudo-laugh like a man being choked. "How quaint. What did I tell you about trusting people, Olga? The only person you can rely on is yourself… and you can't even do that, can you?"

Her dignity as a goddess screamed at her to kill Lev where he stood for his slander against her champion. Her basic morals seethed as she realized Lev must have systematically destroyed Olga's self-esteem over many years and ripped away her pillars of support. She would kill him. She would drag him into the depths of the Abyss and hold his head under the water until he faded into oblivion. Ereshkigal would be Lev's reckoning.

But as she was now, if she moved, everyone would die. Her primal instincts begged her to run back to the safety Kur, the nervous energy causing her to grasp and relax her hands over and over again. Every time she breathed the stench of corrupt mana made her want to gag. Even as Lev continued to tear down Olga Marie, Ereshkigal couldn't do _anything_ without endangering all of them.

Why did she have to be so _useless?_ Here she was, the self-proclaimed Goddess of Victory, and she couldn't even move!

' _Ishtar would've already killed him.'_

An oppressive wave of dread washed over Ereshkigal and the world seemed to slow down around her. Lev's hand rose, the Grail's magic tinting his fingertips. He was about to snap his fingers. The goddess's gut wrenched, but she didn't know why, she didn't know what the spell was but she _needed to save Olga._ Ereshkigal threw the full vestiges of her Authority into a mental command: ' _ **Olga, come to my side! NOW!'**_

Olga's body moved on her command, but it came too late. Lev's fingers snapped and the director no longer had purchase on the earth, her spiritual body floating into the air under Lev's magic.

* * *

' _Lev betrayed us…'_

Olga felt her body moving in two directions. Magic played tug-of-way with her, but eventually Chadea's gravity pulled her in.

' _I'm dead…'_

Lev's twisted smile and wild eyes watched her ascend. Looking now, his disgusting nature was so apparent.

' _I'm dead, and Ereshkigal knew, and she didn't tell me.'_

The goddess's cloak felt heavy on her shoulders. It was suffocating, stifling. It was too hot. She needed to get it off, but she couldn't move like she wanted to, she couldn't move at all. She could only float. The orange glow of an incinerated world loomed.

"You'll experience the pain of dying over and over again!"

Lev's voice hit her, so different from the man she knew, sadistic and cruel, celebrating her… infinite deaths?

Dying? The pain of dying, over and over again…

' _No…'_

Torture.

' _I'll never be able to pass on? I'll just… suffer, endlessly? Die again and again and again and again and again and again… I lived my whole life suffering, trying to live up to what people wanted from me, having them give up on me over and over and over… and now I don't even get to rest in peace?! I don't...'_

A wave of icy terror drained the energy from her. The heavy cloak of the goddess that she wanted to rip off… warmed her. She remembered the cool comfort of Ereshkigal's embrace. The whispered comforts. The gentleness of the Mistress of the Underworld.

'… _I'll never get to experience that again?'_

Something Ereshkigal said previously echoed in her mind. " _Of course physical reinforcement would fail, you're-"_

That line played over in her head. When she tried to jump the crevice in Fuyuki proper, her reinforcement failed. Ereshkigal tried to berate her, but it sounded like… she choked on something?

It sounded like a mage about to break a non-disclosure geass.

' _She tried to tell me…'_

The sun grew ever closer.

' _She wanted to warn me.'_

The panic set in.

"N-NOOOOO!"

Olga heard her own scream in third-person. ' _This can't be the end! How can this be my fate?! I had… I was just praised for my efforts for the first time! The world is in danger! I'm the director of Chaldea, the last line of defense for the world, and I can't… I can't disappear here!"_ She struggled, pulling and twisting in Lev's magical grasp, but there was no purchase, no way for her to correct her trajectory, only the inevitable _incineration_ of her soul.

' _She said_ my _Chaldea would save the world!'_ Olga felt the tears burning at the side of her eyes, the fear choking any physical voice she had. She tried to scream again, but the soundless air scratched her throat like shards of glass. She wanted to sob, but all she could do was let the tears fall down her face and be evaporated by the heat of Chaldeas.

' _Why? Why am I floating towards an eternity of torture? Why did Lev sabotage us, betray_ me _?! Why… why didn't I see it coming?! Fuck, what could I have done differently?! I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to… it doesn't even matter, does it? I'm already dead."_

She felt the heat of the incinerated world sear her skin. She couldn't even see the cavern past the portal Lev opened any more. Olga stopped struggling and let herself go limp.

Even so, resigned frustration burned within her. ' _And here I was thinking something might actually go right for me for once. I'd just found a… friend who's willing to support me. Fujimaru and Mash are green, but, well… I really thought we had something for a little bit there. I really thought Chaldea had some fighting change. I thought…. I thought that maybe I could turn my life around.'_ She let out a sigh, the orange globe barely a foot from her now. ' _And right when I finally found someone who would tell me that everything will be alright…'_

' _It will be alright, Olga.'_

A familiar voice brushed her mind. The weight of Ereshkigal's cloak tightened around her, wrapped itself snugly around her body and over her face, and she felt it pull her back, away from her eternal torture. The cool fabric _squeezed,_ but all she could see was darkness. In that darkness, a glint of metal.

' _I've got you, Champion. Just rest now.'_

The world turned white as snow in all directions, and Olga felt herself slipping into a slumber. Even as the exhaustion washed over her, relief brought a smile to her face. ' _Thank you, Ereshkigal.'_

' _Of course. I'm your Goddess of Victory, after all,'_ she heard, Ereshskigal's voice holding no undue pride. Beneath the caring tone, wrath stirred. ' _I'll tell you all about this one when you wake.'_

* * *

Olga's cage shrank as it floated back to Ereshkigal, finally landing in her palm the size of an amulet. The girl's tiny blue soul flickered and burned, but it was safe in Ereshkigal's care. The cage disappeared in a flash of maroon and reappeared chained around the goddess's neck.

She turned her golden eyes back to the culprit. Lev returned her glare, unfazed.

She would faze him. She would crush his bones to dust, incinerate his body, and drown his soul in the Abyss.

"Hmm," Lev hummed, "Not sure why you would waste your energy on her, but-"

"Doctor," Ereshkigal growled, her Authority leaking out. Frosty maroon and black fog pooled around her, chilling the scorched earth of the cavern. "My connection to the mana link is stable now, correct?"

The icy tendrils reached Ritsuka and Mash. Both noticeably stiffened as the temperature dropped around them, goosebumps covering them in an instant. The cold of Kur crawled further out, now focused on the only untouched living creature in the room. Mash and Ritsuka had her blessing; death's frostbite wouldn't take them. Lev, however... Romani's voice came in over the radio. "R-right. You're good to go."

Every inch of shadow in the cavern roiled to life. Dozens of pairs, _hundreds_ of pairs of red eyes shot open, all focused on a single being. Cages erupted from the abyss, the walls, the earth, each containing the blue flame of a soul. The cavern of the Greater Grail morphed and groaned as Kur itself manifested within it.

Lev glanced around, smoothly stepping out of the way of a tendril of her Authority. "Ah. Seems I've struck a nerve." Gallû spirits ripped out of the darkness, swarming as pure waves of blackness across the space, only to evaporate as they got too close. Still, Lev was unmoved. "I'd love to stick around and play, but I really must be going."

" **No. You will lay down and die like the dog you are."**

Lev hummed a laugh. "This singularity is hanging on by a thread because of that idiotic Saber." As if in emphasis, the world itself shook. Fissures split open the earth, but Ereshkigal didn't care. She could hear Romani speaking frantically, and Mash talking back, but it didn't matter.

Fools. Every one of them. Humans of this era didn't even begin to comprehend the powers of the divine.

Ereshkigal stabbed her flaming spear into the ground. The earth swallowed it greedily, and from the point of impact glowing lines of mana sprouted, weaving outwards like magical circuits. Stakes of red metal clawed their way through the rock, stitching the fissures together and holding them there. Larger cages reached the cave's roof, holding up a majority of the structure. The world still groaned and shook, but Ereshkigal would not let it interrupt her purpose by doing something so weak as falling apart.

Lev furrowed his brows. "You're impressive, goddess, holding a singularity together. However, I fear I must take my leave. We will fight, eventually. When the king wills it so."

"Lady Ereshkigal, we have to go!" Mash yelled.

Lev had the audacity to laugh at her. "Burn like the wastepaper you are. I hope you enjoy the feeling of holding together a dying world, goddess. It will be good practice for the future."

The image of Chaldea closed behind him, and with a bright flash of light, Lev disappeared.

Only to crash back to the dirt seconds later, bound by one of her cages.

"What the hell?!" he growled from the dirt. The goddess lifted herself into the air and floated towards him.

" **No one leaves my domain without my permission."**

Meslamtaea before her appeared in a flash of sunlight, the enormous spear of light and dark bound together by a ring of silver steel.

She threw it into the air, where it held like the celestial body it represented. Before the first sparks graced its blades, three new spears of fire found their home in Lev's body.

His eyes widened as Ereshkigal twisted one of the blades herself, the glare of a goddess of death inches from his own eyes. She smirked down at him; the shock in his eyes told her that he didn't even see her move.

" **My heel is the wrath of Kur itself,** _ **mongrel."**_

Her heel slammed into the ground, a resounding snap of finality. .A sharp crack resounded through the chamber. The world _shook._ The goddess heard the humans behind her frantically planning their escape, but none of them realized what was _actually_ happening. Mash grabbed Ritsuka and jumped away from them, probably acting on instinct as the oppressive power of her Authority grew to a suffocating level. The world wasn't trembling as it was before, not like an earthquake, but something akin to a deathrattle.

This wasn't the singularity failing. This was her power.

For a brief second, the world froze.

The floor beneath them gave way. Everyone in the cavern of the Greater Grail began to fall. Ereshkigal spared some spirits to assist Ritsuka and Mash, but her focus never left the inhuman creature before her.

The Sun's Authority began glowing. Orange and red flames sparked at its tips, crawling down towards the hilt and igniting into a roaring artificial sun.

" **Appear, oh scorching shrine…"**

The heat of Meslamatea burnt her skin, but it didn't matter. Golden bars flashed into existence and slammed into Lev's falling figure, taking away chunks of his burnt body with each strike.

Closer, closer, the Abyss drew near. Ereshkigal righted herself with a burst of mana and rammed into Lev with another spear, this time holding onto him.

He was an abomination. The antithesis to everything her divine stature represented. Someone who administers death as a game, who tortures others for his own amusement… She could not let him live.

" **Reflect on your behavior…"**

"I'd rather not." Lev's skin ripped apart, the false body falling like a molted husk as something monstrous tore itself free. Blackened flesh spread outwards, some lashing at her as disgusting tentacles and others reaching outwards for some kind of hold. Ereshkigal pushed herself away from the creature before it could catch her, but it just kept growing.

But as this monstrous mass grew, Ereshkigal felt a terrible sense of doubt encroach through her hatred. The pillar… The Demon God Pillar. That's what it was. She remembered now. She was punching above her weight class, but it didn't matter.

She was too close to the looming mass to change now. Dozens, hundreds of spears and cages materialized around it, puncturing its flesh and eyes.

Hundreds of red eyes fixed on the blonde goddess, each representing a demon's power, each sending a shiver through her soul. An inhuman, guttural screech shook the world, and the following pressure building up in the pillar's being choked the air out of her lungs.

She pumped more mana into Meslamtaea, even as she felt it burning away her own body. There was no other choice. She had to kill it before it killed her.

" **Kur Ki Gal Ir-"**

" _ **Ereshkigal, by my command seal I order you! Return to us!"**_

Her prey in her grasp, yards from the Abyss… and she reappeared next to Ritsuka and Mash. There was just enough time for her to see the red-eyed being blink away before she experienced rayshifting for the first time.

Just enough time to let the fury of failure set in.

Ereshkigal hit the ruined Chaldean floor screaming in rage. " **I HAD HIM! YOU INSOLENT FOOL, I-"**

"Senpai!"

Mash's scream silenced the goddess. Her burning anger froze as she turned to see Ritsuka pass out in Mash's arms.

"Fujimaru!"

* * *

Romani nodded to Ereshkigal as she left the infirmary. Ritsuka was making up for nearly a day of denying himself the rest a wound like his deserved, and checking on him had once again reminded her of that. The doctor said he would wake up soon, and she wouldn't rush that. Ereshkigal knew patience like the back of her hand. She considered again making a fruit basket for him; scouring Chaldea's kitchen for the produce was an easy enough task if she could get Da Vinci's approval, but she had no ways of acquiring a (non-cage-like) basket or a ribbon to put on it. That was the pain of living, she supposed, absently gazing out over the snow-covered region.

It didn't snow in the underworld. Maybe she would make a snowman today. Ereshkigal wanted to be excited, but her mood remained the gloomy mess it had been since returning from Fuyuki. Her rage at Lev still smoldered, drawing away the energy she could've spent on frolicking in the overworld. It didn't help that she got berated for using 'WAY too much mana' and for 'drawing into the reserves Chaldea needs to run basic life support.'

No one told her she was sharing it! How was she supposed to know it also powered Chaldea? Did people not realize that she had to be told things to know them? Geez!

But that was okay. Everyone was alive, and that's what mattered.

She looked down at her necklace, Olga Marie's cage. Maybe not alive, but…

' _You doing okay, Olga?'_

The spirit's flame twitched. The silence stretched on for a long while, long enough for two Chaldea employees to walk by and raise their eyebrows as she stared at her own chest. ' _Yeah,'_ the quiet voice came, ' _A little better, at least.'_

' _Good, I'm glad. This goddess will…'_ She trailed off, pretending to be unsure of which turn to take in Chaldea's labyrinth. Even as the Mistress of the Underworld, there was so little she could truly promise the dead, least of all acceptance of their condition. All she could do was be there, providing a faint warmth in the bitter cold. ' _This goddess will be here.'_

Little comforts, Ereshkigal knew, as the sliding door to Olga Marie's former room opened for her. She couldn't provide the heat of the sun to her domain, but she could design ornate cages akin to luxurious mansions. She couldn't bring Olga back to life, but… she could let the girl occupy her room. Little comforts, a touch of familiarity.

The old Ereshkigal would be praising herself for such an ingenious idea, but the old Ereshkigal couldn't talk to her spirits. The new Ereshkigal, faced with Olga's melancholy, couldn't shake the nauseating realization that, for all she tried to do for her subjects, none of it really mattered.

What did being surrounded by the belongings of her life matter to Olga if she couldn't do anything with them? What did the battered stuffed dog in the corner mean if she couldn't hold it close? Did sitting in front of the mirror she used to get ready every day just add to the torture of being dead?

Was Ereshkigal's decision to take this soul under her wing worse than just letting her pass on?

At some point, the goddess moved to the bed. She didn't know when exactly, just that one moment she was staring at her reflection, and the next she was staring at the ceiling fan. The cage that pulled at her neck now crushed her chest, her breaths coming shallow and quick under the pressure.

Why did one soul weigh so much more than her entire kingdom?

The fan spun, and spun, and spun, but it didn't provide the answer she craved. It's endless creaking provided the hypnotic lull that dragged her further inwards.

She knew how to get an answer, of course. Ereshkigal could just ask, but each time she brushed up against the mental link, worry clawed her stomach. If she, a goddess, asked Olga for her equal opinion, where did that leave her status of queen? She had one soul to her name. If Olga…

If Olga, someone she wanted to call a friend, told her she wanted to move on, what could Ereshkigal say to that? What could she say that wouldn't lord her Authority like Ishtar?

… she wanted to keep Olga's soul as some kind of pet. Who was she kidding? There was no justification for a goddess being so terribly selfish. It wasn't within her duties to care for deceased souls anymore. Kur only existed when she willed it to, and not nearly to the same extent it once did.

Olga Marie was her Kur, now. She was the queen's only subject. So… she should be granted a voice.

Ereshkigal bit back her apprehension, even as her limbs turned to jelly in protest. ' _Olga?'_

The fan creaked, creaked, creaked, each tiny squeal signalling the agonizing passing of another second. She didn't look at the tiny blue flame on her chest. Memories of the nightmarish cold of loneliness chewed at the back of her mind, a storm of blackness ready to break in the moment she was left alone again. She grit her teeth. Ereshkigal was a benevolent queen. She _had_ to offer the choice.

' _I'm listening, Eresh. What is it?'_

Eresh. She called her Eresh. That was… new. That was nice. It was warm, so warm, so nice, but it was _too_ warm. The same warmth was too much, a sudden hot flash of anxiety wracking her body. An overwhelming fear of unavoidable loss assaulted the goddess, but she pushed through it.

' _Do you want me to let your soul pass on?'_

Silence hung in the air, further intensifying Ereshkigal's personal gravity. Lying in the bed, waiting to be rejected, turned away from, left behind, it physically hurt her. The longer the quiet reigned, the longer she remained uncertain. The longer she thought that, maybe, someone would see some worth in sticking around a gloomy, worthless goddess like her. Uncertainty brought her the faintest sliver of hope, presenting it to her like a ritual dagger prepared to drive into her own flesh if she trusted it too much. Then she handed Olga the same weapon she gave Ishtar and Nergal, and now she had to turn around and wait to be stabbed in the back and left for dead.

Olga Marie didn't respond for three minutes and twelve seconds, exactly. Finally, a familiar exasperated sigh sounded in Ereshkigal's mind. ' _I'm your champion, aren't I? I want to see this through, even if I'm just… watching.'_

Ereshkigal chuckled lightly as relief flooded her body. A giddy energy washed over her- she felt like jumping, twirling, cheering, but of course she wouldn't do that. Just thinking it was enough for her. Tears danced at the sides of her eyes, but she pushed them back down.

Ereshkigal had never had someone offer themselves up as her champion before. Only one other time had she ever experienced such happiness, and she thanked the Throne for not stealing the memory of her contract from her.

' _I'll be sure to put on a show worthy of my champion, then,'_ she assured.

A comfortable silence fell between them, a welcome change from the previous dread. Ereshkigal felt a touch of warmth tickle her consciousness as their spirits brushed against each other, both relishing the connection.

Olga Marie's voice tickled the back of her mind as the goddess dozed, barely a mental whisper. ' _... Did you really mean it?'_

' _Mean what, Champion?'_

' _My Chaldea… Do you really think it's able to save the world?'_

Ereshkigal smiled, breaking the sleepy fog she had allowed to fall over her. This was reassurance she could provide. ' _Of course, Olga. You're an immensely talented human worthy of mountains of praise for what you created here. You've seen it, right? The determination in everyone's eyes? The will to fight in each and every one of your operatives?_ You _kept them together for three years, through all the trials and assaults they faced, and now they're rebuilding with purpose. I can promise you…'_ she trailed off, waiting for the Throne to restrict her words. It didn't. ' _I can promise you, this Grand Order you created will repair the seven singularities, and restore the foundation of humanity, and I will be by your side the entire time. You have this goddess's word.'_

' _Thank you, Ereshkigal,'_ Olga breathed alongside a sigh of relief. ' _For everything.'_

* * *

**END OF** **ARC 1: THE WEIGHT OF ONE SOUL**

**A/N:** So. That's Fuyuki. What'd you think?

This entire story started because I thought of the scene of Ereshkigal pulling Olga into one of her cages, and I'm really, really happy that I got this far. I'd like to give a huge thanks to **TungstenCat** and **Pallan Minerva** for helping out with this chapter, without them I would've posted the binge-written-in-one-sitting-at-4am version of this chapter and... well, that wouldn't have been anywhere near the quality I wanted.

I'm making a bold assumption that most people reading this at least vaguely enjoy Ereshkigal as a character, so if you're looking for a prime Ereshkigal fic, the previously mentioned **TungstenCat's** _Mysterious Divine Wine_ is the fic for you. It focuses on Ereshkigal and Ishtar attempting to make amends after millennia, and it's sweet, heartfelt, and very, very well-written.

Some housekeeping: The Orleans arc is outlined and ready to rumble, but I'm going to be changing a bit in the way I write it. Fuyuki was very much linear, without skipping much content at all. I won't be writing Orleans going over every event in the singularity as meticulously. I'll also be deviating a bit from canon, because, well... Orleans was kinda bad, and I want to write something that's actually interesting.

That's it from me, stay tuned for more!

Endy


	6. Chapter 6

The flames ate at Jeanne, lashing out past the pyre itself, grabbing onto her burlap dress and pressing on, higher, higher, each flame burning and searing and—

'— _hurting, oh God, it hurts, please God grant me mercy—'_

Jeanne lunged against the rope. Smoke stifled her screams and seared the inside of her throat. She twisted and pulled, slamming against the stake, trying to break free or break _it_ , anything to get _away from the flames._

' _I don't want this!_ _God, no, please, save me! Anyone!'_ Her desperation hit its fever pitch as she pleaded and begged for salvation.

She screwed her eyes shut and for a brief moment could feel the wooden cross in her hands, sending her back to barely a minute ago. She was still the perfect saint then, Jeanne d'Arc, asking for a crucifix from the crowd even as panic and fear racked her every thought.

Gilles' reassuring voice before every battle, echoing over and over again. _'You are the Holy Maiden, Jeanne d'Arc. A messenger from God Himself. You're a light for all—'_

The cross she held pierced the inside of her palm and she snapped back into the flames.

'— _it burns it burns it burns it burns it burns it burns it hurts it_ hurts, _Lord please, make it stop!'_

Agony consumed her as her skin peeled and boiled and charred. The fire now clawed at every inch of her;she jerked and flailed to get out of its jaws, but...

She collapsed under the crushing weight of her exhaustion and pain, her kicks slowing to a stop. Every time she fought she needed to breathe, and every time she breathed she lost more air to the blaze. Her body refused to move.

The fire burned so hotly around her; everything had turned frigid cold.

No pain anymore. No need to struggle anymore. Jeanne let torpor settle in her limbs.

' _Thank you, God,'_ Jeanne thought as relief hit her. The roar of the pyre, the jeers of the crowd all faded away. Even as the orange light burned so brightly, she felt at peace.

As the world turned white, Jeanne thought two things, one immediately after the other, so close that they might as well have been overlapping.

' _Please God, forgive them for their sins.'_

' _Why did you let me burn, God?'_

But the world was white and peace had settled. She no longer burned, no longer hurt. She no longer felt anything, as calm and comfortable as she was lying in bed on a cool spring morning. The realization that she had died didn't sway her mood, for death meant she would reach heaven and—

—her soul flashfroze with the touch of the void—.

' _ **THEHOLYGRAILISANOMNIPOTENTWISHGRANTINGDEVICE—'**_

Jeanne gasped as she awoke, not burning nor burned, distinctly alive. Her nostrils, so recently filled with dark smoke and burning flesh, were assaulted by the smell of fresh grass and clean air. A chill breeze passed through the cracks in her armor and cloak _(cloak and armor? Since when?)._

Jeanne opened her eyes.

* * *

Olga's spirit floated a foot or so behind Ereshkigal, matching the goddess's leisurely pace down the Chaldea's great outer hall. The snow blew by as it always did, but the eternal blizzard was a bit lighter than usual today. There were no cracks of true sunlight, but the clouds were thin enough to allow something akin to sunlight through. This was the sunlight Chaldea's resident goddess was now chasing.

"Stop _moving_!" she hissed. The goddess held out a tiny succulent gifted to her by Da Vinci, trying desperately to keep it in the uncaring lines of pseudo-sunlight. Olga let a laugh build in her chest, but the week she had been tethered to the goddess taught her that laughing directly at Ereshkigal was a terrible idea.

' _You know, Eresh, Chaldea has sunlamps specifically designed to keep plants alive.'_

Ereshkigal ignored her, cursing and pouncing forward as the wind changed.

Olga had a rush of very distinct memories of a childhood cat and a laser pointer that she, wisely, kept to herself. If Ereshkigal knew how much Olga's image of her had changed since they first met...

' _There are also many simple spells you could put on the pot that will maintain its resident's health.'_

"No magic! _I_ am raising this plant. I will not leave its growth to your magecraft," Ereshkigal stated firmly. The fact that she was shuffling forwards on her knees to keep up with the movement of the clouds severely undermined her authority. Olga Marie gazed up and down the hall; while she found poking at the goddess amusing, Ereshkigal had asked her to keep watch so no one else saw the Mistress of the Underworld in such a… compromising position.

Olga Marie considered telling her that there were cameras over all non-resident areas of Chaldea, but… well, if Olga regained the ability to physically interact with the world, pulling up those tapes would be a fun movie night for her and the goddess.

Olga's leisurely floating slowed to a stop as her mood dropped. She still followed behind the goddess, but only because her link to her cage pulled her along. Olga Marie found immense warmth and comfort during her week with the goddess, but…

The voice of Chaldea's sole Master broke through the white silence. "Oh, Ereshkigal!"

Ereshkigal, the Goddess of the Underworld, a deity and queen of her own making, responded as any respectable person would when caught off-guard. "Eep!"

' _I THOUGHT YOU WERE KEEPING WATCH!'_

' _I GOT DISTRACTED!'_

Ereshkigal's eyes screamed louder than her thoughts. Olga's scream was loud enough for both of them.

But this goddess's persona had millenia of practice, and her divine smile formed purely from muscle memory. "Ah, Fujimaru. How do you do?"

No one acknowledged the fact that she had to push herself off the floor, nor did they mention the small plant she unceremoniously moved behind her back. The Chaldean residents found that ignoring the blatant contradictions between the goddess's desired persona and her actions to be the best method of avoiding conflict.

Well, that's what Olga would like to believe. She wasn't sure if Ritsuka was actually thinking that hard about it, but wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt for once.

"I'm well, Ereshkigal," he replied, smiling through each somewhat strained step. He was significantly healthier, only 'a bit stiff' by his own claims. Olga knew he must still be in pain, but the fact that he was out of the medical ward and moving showed that he was well down the path to a full recovery. "How about yourself? Sorry we don't have much to explore here, but when—"

"Please, Fujimaru," Ereshkigal smiled and held up her hand. "Chaldea is wonderful. You have no more to offer; what kind of greedy, spoiled goddess would ask for even more?"

' _Ishtar?'_ Olga posed.

' _You catch on quick, Champion.'_ Ereshkigal's haughty approval pulled at the corners of Olga's lips. The goddess's ego seemed to soar whenever Olga proved to have listened to her, and Olga had indeed been listening.

"I'm not friendly with any goddesses of that description, I'm afraid," Ritsuka responded, his voice warm and professional.

"Oh how I wish I could say the same," Ereshkigal huffed, shifting her plant to under one arm. "You've been blessed with ignorance, Fujimaru."

"So I've gathered. I'll have to ask you more about your pantheon another time," he smiled and clasped his hands before him. "Da Vinci and Dr. Roman actually sent me to humbly request your presence in the command room. The next singularity has been found."

"Hmm…" Ereshkigal hummed, eyes trailing down to her succulent. She angled herself ever-so-slightly so she wasn't between it and the window. "Will you be accompanying us?"

"Us—?" Ritsuka's brow furrowed for just a moment, and for just a moment Olga a rush of nausea as _certain things_ felt real again. But then he blinked and smiled and said, "Right, I'd love to go with you and the director, but I actually have to grab Mash, too. You go on ahead, I'll be right behind you!"

So it was fine. He might not be able to see her, but he knew she was there. He just needed to be reminded.

"Well, it can't be helped," Ereshkigal shrugged, glancing away from him and twirling the end of one of her twintails as she spoke. "That's fine, I guess. Off with you, then." She shooed him away. He gave her a quick bow, smile, and went off on his way again.

Olga drifted lazily before the goddess. _'Hmm.'_

"Hmm?"

' _He's perfectly polite, isn't he?'_

"Quite so!" Ereshkigal stated, starting in the direction of the command room. "It's to be expected when one is working with a goddess like myself. Why do you hum?"

Olga put her hands behind her bed and leaned back in the open air, allowing her connection to Ereshkigal to pull her along. _'Fujimaru, he… he proved to be reliable, I'll admit, but whenever I see a magus act like him, it puts a bad taste in my mouth.'_

"Respectful?" Ereshkigal smirked. "That makes perfect sense. You're his polar opposite."

' _That's not what I—!'_ Olga snapped, but bit her tongue. After a second, she chuckled and flew up to Ereshkigal's side. _'Well, I can't really argue with that, can I? I'd just rather a magus be a snake to my face instead of hiding it under practiced, bullshit kindness.'_

Olga practically spat the last few words. Images of Lev flashed through her mind, and the wave of complicated, intertwined emotions that came with it threatened her already-fragile good mood. Ereshkigal's hand on her shoulder calmed her down.

"Be calm, Olga Marie," she soothed.

The feeling of actual touch anchored the director's spirit before she could spiral. It was cool, soothing… physical. Just enough to give her something to hold onto.

"Lev's spirit will be erased from this existence, that much I can promise to you. He crossed both of us; you, my willing champion, and myself, the Mistress of the Underworld. That is something that will not be without vengeance." Ereshkigal's harsh _'a goddess scorned'_ expression softened, and she paused to look at Olga. "But I do believe there are genuinely good people in the world, if few and far between. Fujimaru… I believe he is one of them," she said, and then let a sly smile cross her features. "And you, however prickly, might just be another."

' _Prickly?!'_

"Come, let us be off!" Ereshkigal (after checking to make sure the coast was clear) merrily skipped off down the hallway, dragging a fuming Olga Marie in her wake.

* * *

Ereshkigal took in the natural beauty of France's rolling hills with delight. She relished the warm sun against her skin, the sweet aroma of grass and blooming trees…

"Oh, this is wonderful!" Ereshkigal skipped down the hill and around a cluster of red and yellow flowers, spinning around and basking in the sunlight. She skid to a stop and leaned down to take a deep sniff. "How fragrant! How… oh, goodness, these would do wonders to brighten up Kur! I should pick—no, I couldn't! That would kill them! Oh, well, maybe just one…"

The reliable goddess, as enraptured as she was with the natural surface world, reacted just a tad late to the falling Mash-Master meteorite. In fact, she didn't react at all until their second skip, having to take a full second to process the complete erasure of the beautiful flowers just a foot away from her face. She stared at the crater of upturned dirt, going through the five stages of grief with practiced efficiency.

Having happiness dangled in front of her only to be ripped away was something she was too familiar with.

Mash dug her heels in at the third skip, plowing through the earth a few yards further before finally coming to a complete stop. She set Ritsuka, who found his footing quickly in the upturned dirt.

"Well," he said, dusting himself off, "that was eventful. How's everyone doing?"

"A-Are…" Ereshkigal blinked, reaching the 'oh, Mash and Fujimaru just fell from the sky' line of thought, "Are you okay?"

Ritsuka smiled. "I'll admit, I was coming into this mission a bit groggy, so the adrenaline is well-appreciated! I'd go as far to say that I'm better than just five minutes ago." He stretched his hands to the sky and leaned to one side, then the other. "Thanks for the save, Mash. That could've been… fatal."

Mash nodded, materializing her shield and taking stock of the area, finding just as Ereshkigal had that they were safe."You're welcome, Senpai. I'm your shield. I won't let you get hurt again."

The two shared a somber look. It only lasted a moment, but Ereshkigal saw the masks of professionalism and optimism drop. Mash's eyes widened just a little bit, the same look of fear and panic she had when she spoke to Ereshkigal that first time in a burned out basement. Something _else_ crossed Ritsuka's expression. She couldn't read Ritsuka, something told her she never really could, even back by the fire, but something in his eyes felt… sad.

But the moment had passed, and Ereshkigal would not stoop as low as to express curiosity openly.

Mash spoke into a device on her wrist. "Da Vinci, Dr. Roman, we've arrived. And, um, in the future, please don't rayshift us into the sky."

Da Vinci's voice rang out. "Yes, yes! That was my mistake, even a genius like myself can add an extra zero sometimes, teehee!"

"Seriously, though," Romani chimed in, "that shouldn't have happened. There is some kind of magical barrier around different pockets of the singularity, but we accounted for that. It may have been a mistake in the equipment repairs."

"Now, Roman," Da Vinci hummed, a threatening edge to her voice, "I would like to remind you that only I can criticize my work. My repairs were flawless, as one would expect. Besides, Lancer rayshifted where she was supposed to!"

"Um, actually," Ereshkigal interjected, "that's probably because I'm a goddess of the earth. If I'm not holding Meslamtaea, I can't be in the heavens."

The two doctors' voices fell to hushed whispers, but the communications channel remained open for all to hear.

"Wait, did you account for that, Roman?"

"No, did you?"

"How was I supposed to know that I had to? The divine or pseudo-divine spirit origins already registered in the system have no such properties!"

They bantered a while longer, excited about what was apparently a new discovery about how divine domains work, but Ereshkigal turned her attention to picking some of the uprooted flowers. There was no reason to listen to mortals discuss how interesting she was, that was a given. Plus, since all of those flowers were already uprooted, it wouldn't be killing them if she picked up a few and laced them into her cages, right?

"Hey, Da Vinci, Roman, would you mind telling us where we should go from here?" Ritsuka said in an attempt to bring the science types back on track.

"Right, right, yes!" Da Vinci chimed. "We're getting a servant signal to your north- there's a lot of magical interference, so pinpointing the exact location of the Grail is going to take some time. For now, that's our best lead."

"Thank you," Ritsuka nodded, cutting communications and looking north. "Let's go, team!"

* * *

Whatever this Hundred Years' War was, it meant nothing to her. But, inevitably, it found a way to annoy Ereshkigal. Their travel had been peaceful, the vibrant French countryside alight with blooming wildflowers and rolling hills; so peaceful, in fact, that she had dropped her mask enough to enjoy herself. The warm sun and cool breeze brought a smile to her face, and the smell of flowers on the wind brought her a sense of joy and relaxation she rarely felt. She could see some French villages far off on the horizon, and it took all of her discipline to not run off to admire the absolutely adorable architecture.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't be passing through any of them. Ereshkigal grumbled a bit at the news, but wouldn't risk sacrificing her image by doing something so unseemly as whining.

Instead, their path took them directly through the bloody remnants of a battle concluded not two days ago. No new towns, no more flowers, no vineyards or wheat fields… just death. Again.

Ereshkigal knew battlefields. She was death herself, how could she not? The souls that came to her brought memories, visions of the moments of their peril. She knew what a battlefield should be. She knew what they should feel like.

She hadn't noticed earlier, in Singularity F. There was nothing to notice, really- by the time she had been summoned, the singularity's inhabitants were long dead. But this… As Ereshkigal stepped over the bloated, blue-tinged body of one of many slain French soldiers, her stomach churned.

There were no souls here. Around every battlefield, souls lingered for days. They _should_ linger. She cast her red eyes over the valley, taking in the endless expanse of dead still leaking blood into the soil, Ereshkigal saw _nothing._ It was as if the moment these people died, they ceased to exist, or their souls were spirited away somewhere else.

"This is horrible…" Mash murmured. Even though the sunset cast a fiery orange over the landscape, her ashen expression was more than apparent.

Ritsuka's mouth set in a thin line as he navigated the corpses around him. His foot sank into the blood-soaked mud and he lurched forward, grabbing onto Mash to stop his fall.

"Da Vinci," he spoke, his voice quivering, "is the servant signal getting any closer?"

"You're nearly there, Fujimaru," she replied.

Something _squirmed_ beneath a body steps away from Ereshkigal. She reacted instantly, imbedding a spear of gold through the corpse and whatever it covered. Mash's shield materialized as the goddess stepped back, creating a spinning ring of red lances orbiting their party and watching the disturbance carefully.

Ritsuka's eyes hardened, the discomfort from earlier forgotten as the magical circuits in his limbs flared blue. "Lancer, Mash, status?"

Mash's eyes flickered from side to side, scanning the area. "Unknown. Possible undetected enemies, be on alert."

Ereshkigal summoned a handful of dark spirits beasts and had them fan out and establish a perimeter. One of her cages cracked through the earth, flipping the suspicious body over and analyzing the mutilated… creature underneath.

"Some kind of magical summon. Starfish-like, feeding on the corpse. I don't recognize it. Roman, Da Vinci?"

' _Olga?'_

The soul in her necklace didn't respond immediately, but Ereshkigal could feel her stir. _'Hmm?'_

' _This creature,'_ she nodded towards the limp, purple and black monster, _'do you know it?'_

Olga manifested kneeled over the creature, a shimmering shade tinted blue. _'I'm not familiar with the design, but it follows basic mass-producible summon blueprints. It uses other living creatures as a food source.'_ She bit her bottom lip in thought. _'No self-respecting Clock Tower magus would ever admit creating something this foul. They'd keep locked away deep in some disgusting basement with enough plausible deniability to save face.'_

Ereshkigal nodded and kept her eyes out as she spoke to the group. "Olga says—"

"Analysis complete!" Da Vinci chimed. "This is a real nasty piece of work, an ugly abomination of epic proportions. All those little tentacles are like straws they use to suck up blood, and there are barbs everywhere to cut open their prey." Even as she spoke, the starfish thing started melting into a dark ooze. "Definitely isn't supposed to be here during the Hundred Years' War, so there might be a Caster-class servant around somewhere. This has been another creature analysis courtesy of your resident genius, Da Vinci-chan!"

Olga stood, frowning, and let her form disappear back into the necklace. _'Hm. Ask her if there are any more nearby.'_

Ereshkigal opened her mouth to speak, but the conversation had already moved on.

"Did we just walk into a minefield of these things?" Ritsuka asked, stepping further behind Mash and readying some offensive spell she didn't recognize.

Roman's voice came over the comms this time. "That's a bit hard to say. Scanning for magical signatures in a recent battlefield is extremely difficult with all of the spirits and ghosts 'fogging up' our sensors."

Dozens of burning spears burst into existence around the group, joining those already in orbit. Meslamtaea manifested in Ereshkigal's hands, blazing like the sun. Somewhere a few yards away, her hunting spirits pounced on a discovered threat. She chose her next words carefully, checking over her shoulder that Mash and Ritsuka were ready for battle. "There are no ghosts here, Roman."

The comms went silent for a moment. When Roman's voice returned, it lacked any of his usual casualness. "You're surrounded. The closest area of relative safety is directly north, towards the servant-like signal."

"Which might be the source of danger," Ereshkigal stated.

"If they created these creatures, we need to stop them before something else like this happens," Ritsuka said through gritted teeth.

Something slithered in her peripheral vision. Three spears shot towards it and dug into dirt and flesh. Starfish monsters scattered like cockroaches, and more lances flew after them as they retreated under darkness and morbid cover.

The movement of one started a chain reaction. Three, five, eleven, dozens, hundreds… The valley shed the ominous stillness of a forgotten battle and stirred like a hornet's nest disturbed. Everywhere she looked, creatures slid out from drained bodies, shook off blood and mud, crawled around to observe the idiot Chaldeans who walked into their nest without even realizing they were in danger.

"We can't hold this position," Mash reported, scanning the swarm of monsters. "... Lancer, can you clear a path?"

"Of course. I'm a goddess, after all." With a flick of her wrist, a wall of cages cut through a cluster that got too close. "Grab Fujimaru and prepare to run north. Ready…"

Ereshkigal rang the cage at her side, letting the chime of the dead call forth her spirits.

"GO!"

"H-HELP! ANYBODY!"

A leviathan of shadow burst through the earth, a narwhal's horn cutting through some of the creatures and it's mass sending dozens of others flying out of the Chaldeans' way. Ereshkigal crested the hill first, her ring of spears firing and replenishing automatically.

' _Help?'_

She snapped her gaze towards the sound of the call.

Her encounters with Archer and Saber in the previous singularity got her accustomed to what servants in general _felt_ like. Something about Grail Wars and the summoning process gave her an instinctual understanding of how to sense servants or identify them.

Even without her experience, she would know that this servant, if she could even call them that, was wrong. The signal was weak, far too weak; it was more of buzzing nearby, like a mosquito flying near her ears, then the direct 'ping' of another servant's presence. If the signal itself didn't tell her that much, seeing her in action would have been enough.

The blonde girl couldn't have been much older than Ereshkigal's vessel. She stabbed forward with a flag standard, skewering a starfish monster as it tried to pounce on her, but the movement was far slower and clunkier than a normal servant. Another one of the creatures jumped onto the girl's shoulder and bit into her, blood soaking into her navy cloak as she desperately tried to pull it off of herself.

"G-Get _off_!"

The creature went flying, leaving two barbed tentacles hooked in the girl's flesh- Ereshkigal noticed similar wounds around her body, indicating a durability and strength greater than a normal human's, at least. But her face… the girl was terrified. Her eyes were wide and frantic, and although she fought like someone who had seen combat, she still flinched away from the monstrosities as they lashed out at her.

' _This girl isn't the source of these things…'_

"Mash, change of plans! I think they're on the same side as us! I'm grabbing her, keep going!"

"Right!" Mash slammed her shield into one of the monsters and slung Ritsuka over her shoulder. He looked a little green, Ereshkigal noted, but that wasn't high on her priorities right now. The Shielder glanced north. "Rendezvous in the field up ahead?"

Ereshkigal followed her gaze to a green clearing a bit beyond the edge of the battlefield. "Sounds good. Do you need me to take some of them out?"

"No, I think I can jump it."

Ritsuka's eyes widened. "Wait, wha-"

Ereshkigal smiled at him as Mash launched herself far into the air. The angle looked good, and she trusted Mash to handle the landing, so Ereshkigal jumped into action herself.

She shot towards the girl, Meslamtaea catching fire as she flew. The Sun's Authority blazed to life, and she slammed into the earth like a shooting star. Divine fire erupted outward, spearing the starfish creatures and incinerating them.

The blonde girl looked up at the descended goddess in shock.

Ereshkigal held out her hand. "This benevolent goddess has heard your pleas. I extend to you my aid. Be grateful."

The girl's jaw hung slack for a moment, but she seemed to compose herself and shakily took her hand.

Ereshkigal smiled. _'Ah, yes!_ This _is what reverence should feel like!'_

* * *

The three Chaldeans stood across from the newcomer. As soon as Ereshkigal set her down, she had backed away from them, warily gripping her standard and glancing at each of them in turn.

"Who are you people? What were those things? And you," she focused on Ereshkigal. "You called yourself a goddess. What kind of blasphemous witchcr—"

Her eyes widened as she choked on the word. Her standard dropped into the soft grass with a thud as she covered her mouth with her hands.

"This is wrong. This is so, so wrong… Am I in hell? Oh, Lord... After all of that, everything I did, did I..?"

Ereshkigal shared a look with Mash. This wasn't quite what she expected. There was definitely something Servant-like about the girl, but she just sounded like a scared civilian. And did she just call Ereshkigal 'blasphemous?' After the goddess went out of her way to help her?

Absurd! Ereshkigal crossed her arms and furrowed her brow, turning her 'intimidating divinity' persona up to full power. "Excuse me! I save your life and you point a spear at us? Show some gratit—"

"Umm, Lancer?" Ritsuka put a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "With all due respect, I don't think berating her will help the situation."

Ereshkigal bit her tongue and huffed. "Fine. You handle it, then."

Ritsuka held his hands up and approached the frantic girl. As he stepped forward, her hand snapped to the sword at her side. His servants tensed, ready to intervene.

"I'm Ritsuka Fujimaru," he started, hands still up. He turned one hand to reveal his command seals. "I'm a Master of Chaldea, a far-off organization that helps deal with magical threats like the creatures that attacked you. We aren't going to hurt you."

"As long as you don't—"

He cut Ereshkigal off forcefully. "We aren't going to hurt you. Period. May I ask your name?"

She eyed them with suspicion for a moment longer, then relaxed her grip on her blade. "Jeanne d'Arc. And… thank you for your help."

Ritsuka smiled. "Of course. We wouldn't leave anyone in that situation." He looked back to Ereshkigal and Mash. "She's injured. We should set up a temporary camp here, let her recover a bit."

Mash glanced back to where they were just fighting for their lives. "We're a bit close to danger, Senpai."

"Right. Lancer, can you set up a perimeter?"

Ereshkigal furrowed her brow. "Of course. I am a reliable goddess, after all."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

Jeanne raised an eyebrow at the other blonde, a look Ereshkigal did not miss. "A goddess? That—" She gasped mid-sentence, grasping her head and falling to her knees. Words spilled from her, without cause or inflection.

"The Goddess of the Netherworld in Sumerian myth Lancer-class Pseudo-Servant presides over crops snakes pestilence—"

She gasped again, collapsing into a fetal position and taking a few shaking breaths. As Jeanne trembled, the torn portion of cloth around her shoulder and back fell aside. Ereshkigal absently noted that her wounds had closed up for the most part, similar to how servants usually heal. There were still some fading scars—

' _Those aren't scars.'_ Olga's voice was quiet.

Ereshkigal knew what burned command seals looked like. Ritsuka's seals had only just recovered. But as Jeanne's breathing started to calm, she and Mash could only stare at her back. That, and the over two _dozen_ faded seals that covered it.

"Da Vinci," Mash mumbled, "are you seeing this?"

* * *

 **A/N:** It's been a little while. Here's the long and short of it: I actively took a break from the story to get the next arc completely figured out (considering I started working on the initial idea of Afterlife nearly a year before posting the first chapter, this isn't too odd), and then the pandemic happened.

With that in mind, I'd like you to think of each arc as a sequel. The time between separate arcs will be longer than the time between chapters in the arcs, because that's just… how I tackle them. Good news, though, this arc actually goes into Septem!

Lastly, some of the changes I've made to Orleans should be noticeable here. Jeanne has a throwaway line about being an 'incomplete summon', which really only amounted to her not having all the Ruler class abilities, and that just seemed… really interesting. To expand upon, anyways. And yes, I know Orleans wasn't one of the singularities that Mash and Ritsuka were rayshifted into the sky originally.

In other news, I wrote a guest chapter for **Pallan Minerva's** story, _A Saga of Shirou's Summons!_ See the Circe chapter if you're interested! Also, big shout-out to Minerva and **TungstenCat** for helping edit this chapter!

Best,

Endy


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